Every Tuesday morning I send out my Tuesday Tips by email to my subscribers. If you’d like to receive these Tips, just email me at miriamkfreedman@gmail.com.

These Tips are all about TRUST — what it is, why it’s so vital, how to build it, how we need it in schools (and everywhere), how to spot and avoid distrust, how to rebuild it, etc., etc.

I share vignettes –short, very short stories — that I’ve gathered over the years from clients, colleagues, famous people whom I may not know personally, passers-by, relatives, friends, and life itself. You get the picture. Wisdom and humor are everywhere — often in the most surprising places.

Just call me the “TRUST Lady”. After 60+ years in public education — as a teacher, hearing officer, school attorney, author of eight books and many opinion pieces, including in The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, and Education Next, speaker, reformer, parent, and grandparent, I’ve come to understand that, far too often, TRUST is the missing piece in our schools — and our wider society. And, more than ever, we sure need it as we work towards an excellent education for all students.

CAVEAT: These Tuesday Tips are intended to be used for general information only. They are not provided as legal or other professional advice. In the event that legal advice is required, the services of an attorney should be sought.

So here’s the Tip that received more hits than others. It was written on the Fourth of July — and it still matters. Here goes:

Happy Independence Day! I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

I’d love to share three quick thoughts and photos since I always feel patriotic on this day and wonder if you do, as well.

First, the photo of my family’s luggage tag for the ocean liner, the Nieuw Amsterdam, when we immigrated to the USA in 1951. I was a young girl then. We boarded the ship in Rotterdam, Holland and, a week later, we disembarked in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Second, I still remember my mother waking me up in the darkness before dawn to see the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. She was so inspired and encouraged by it. And I wonder if you…