The Night America Counts
On nights like these, America is transfixed by numbers. Percentages tick upward on screens like stock prices in a bull market. Counties report their tallies like quarterly earnings. Pundits dissect demographic data as if reading tea leaves, searching for meaning in the spaces between digits. We count and recount, watching the mathematics of democracy unfold in real-time. But what do these numbers mean? What values do they represent?
The numbers we count in elections are more than just a tally of votes. They represent the voices and choices of individual citizens, each with their unique hopes, fears, and beliefs. These numbers also reflect the values that we hold as a society – values like equality, freedom, justice, and inclusivity.
The Other Numbers We Keep
But in classrooms across this same America, we count different numbers—numbers that rarely make prime-time news yet carry equal weight in the story of our democracy: the number of students who can’t read at grade level, the percentage of children who come to school hungry, and the widening achievement gaps between zip codes that share nothing but geographic proximity. These numbers haunt our educators, keep principals awake at night, and demand attention even when the cameras are pointed elsewhere.
The parallels between election night and our educational system are stark in their symmetry. Both are exercises that count what we claim to value. Both are testament to what we believe matters most. In elections, we tally votes to determine the direction of our collective future. In schools, we measure progress to chart the course of our children’s futures. But what exactly are we measuring, and why? Are we counting the things that align with our values, or have we become fixated on numbers that further marginalize students?
“But in this pursuit of numerical validation, have we lost sight of what truly matters?“
Beyond the numbers, we must ask ourselves more profound questions. What kind of society do we want to build? What values do we want to prioritize? And how can we ensure that our actions align
Battlegrounds Beyond Ballots
When news anchors speak of “battleground states,” I think of battleground schools – those institutions fighting daily wars against poverty, systemic inequity, and the crushing weight of lowered expectations. When they discuss “voter turnout,” I consider student turnout and the sad reality that many young people do not feel their voices matter in our society. As we debate red and blue states, I can’t help but think of the stark divide between school districts and their ability to staff classrooms, resource their spaces, and address the needs of their communities.
The Red Hot Button Issues
The “hot button issues” that dominate election coverage—the economy, democracy, state rights, and global conflicts—echo in every school board meeting, parent-teacher conference, and classroom discussion. Our schools are microcosms of these more significant societal debates.
As we examine these parallels, it becomes clear that the challenges faced within our political landscape and educational system are deeply interconnected. We’re arguing about the fundamental questions that drive voters to the polls: Who are we as a nation? What values do we wish to impart to the next generation? What truths do we consider self-evident?
What is Educational Leadership Now
Educational leadership, at its core, is an act of faith similar to democracy itself. It requires believing that we can create something better than what exists today through deliberate action and collective will. It demands that we see potential not just in numbers but in faces – in the eyes of children who deserve more than what our current calculations provide.
As the electoral map fills with reds and blues tonight, I think about the colors we use to grade papers, mark attendance, and track progress. These, too, are binary choices that often fail to capture the nuanced reality of learning, of growing, of becoming. Just as no state is red or blue, no student, school, or community can be reduced to a single data point.
The pursuit of better morals—in education and democracy—requires us to look beyond the immediate tallies. It demands that we ask not just, “Who won?” but “Who is being served?” Not just “What’s the count?” but “What counts?” Not just “How many?” but “How well?”
A Parallel Count
Tonight, as the numbers roll in and commentators spin their narratives, remember that another count continues in parallel—the daily accounting of our commitment to educational equity, to nurturing democracy’s next generation, and to building a society that measures success not just in electoral victories but in lives transformed through learning.
In the end, whether at the ballot box or in the classroom, we are always counting the same thing: our hopes for tomorrow, our faith in better possibilities, our belief that through collective action and shared purpose, we can count ourselves toward justice.
Dr. Darryl S. Diggs, Jr.
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