Well, here we are, the end of the 2025-2026 school year…

You pause mid-step, caught between where you are going and where you have been. Your body faces forward, but your head turns back over your shoulder, eyes fixed on something no one else can see.

It is not a single memory. It feels like a collage. Faded laughter, a door closing, sunlight through a window that no longer exists. The past does not sit neatly behind you. It lingers, almost within reach, as if turning a little more could bring it back.

Your expression is difficult to read. Not quite regret, not quite longing, something quieter. Recognition, perhaps. An understanding that those moments shaped you, but no longer belong to them.

The air feels still, as if time itself is holding its breath.

Then, slowly, you turn forward again.

Another year down, a year wiser, a year older, and another ______ to remember (you fill in the blank)…

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” The end of the school year marks the packaging of academic efforts, the closure of one phase of learning, and the beginning of another. It’s a time to reflect on the experiences gained, the knowledge acquired, and the growth achieved. It is the time we have been given…

I hope you have enjoyed the blogs this school year. Some have special meaning to me, and the others were an opportunity to write about leadership and actually have people read it… well, I am very appreciative. Thank you.

For our traditional last blog of the year, here are the five most-read blogs from this past school year. Just click on the link to read again or read for the first time…

1. Beyond Today: The Transitive Power of Educational Leadership
2. “Asset-based narrative” – It’s what we need in educational leadership for our schools…
3. A Sacred Work Prayer
4. Perspective for a New Year: Reflections from The Family Circus
5. Narcissism: From Decay to Destruction in Leadership.. Born of Selfish Pride

As for my favorite… I’m going with this: The Tension of Conflict and the Conflict of Tension…

Again, I would like to thank the readers of The Book Chamber Blog. Thank you for reading my thoughts, rants, or whatever you might call them. Your comments and feedback are always welcome.

And… As always, A Thank You to educators in every role, everywhere who are in it for the students. You are the reason why education will always have a chance to help society.

If you are wondering what the most read blog is since I have been writing… Here it is… Is the “Leadership Force” strong with you? There must be Star Wars fans out there…

As summer vacation nears, make time for yourself and your family. In the end, that is what is most important. And as always… if all else fails and you need something to do, read a book.

We will pick back up in the fall.

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2026 J Clay Norton

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