The Maltese people knew the value of hard work. Hours of back-breaking work at the mill turning grain into flour. Ancient, repetitive, necessary. By the mid-1800s, “the grind” had become shorthand for the monotonous labor of modern life. “Back to the grind” followed soon after. But here’s the thing: not all grind is drudgery. The best work — the kind that moves history forward — is often the hardest. The Maltese understood that survival required grinding side by side, not leaving the millstones to someone else. So too in education: the change we need won’t come if we step back and hope others do the work. This September, the grind is ours to share. It will be hard. It will be long. But it’s how purpose becomes progress — and how freedom, in learning as in life, is defended. More in Jeanne Allen’s latest Forza newsletter: (fb)

When you believe in students, they change history. 2024 Finalist St. Mary’s Academy’s young women solved the Pythagorean Theorem with trig. 100% grad + college acceptance for 19 yrs. @60Minutes tells the story . (fb)