I have made a decision to become chairman of the American Athletic
Olympic Committee. Changes will be enacted right away to bring more integrity
and leadership to the athletes that represent us. Athletes will be required to meet more
rigorous standards and far surpass their past scores and times since they’re
falling behind other international scores. The same training schedules will be scripted
and formally prescribed for all athletes, at all levels, in every sport.
Coaches will need to update all certifications and take on even more demanding
classes to prove their value and their merit will be based heavily on their
athletes’ ability to perform on that one day of their event.
I was able to gain this position because after all I watch
every Olympic games, winter and summer, from opening to closing and have some
sports that are my favorites. Another
qualification worthy of mention is because after all one of our former kiddos,
and classmate of Dear Boy, will be competing for a position on the 2016 hammer
throw team and well, I knew the kid and then I’ve also been at speed skating
qualifiers to watch a friend of Beez’.
And finally, well I consider myself a four year, Varsity member of my
Alma Mater’s track and field team – I never missed a meet, indoor or outdoor,
and trained really hard to be the best, most outstanding spectator for every
race, each hurdle, and every high jump event my brother was in.
If you’ve dragged yourself off the floor from howling at the
prospect of me having ANYTHING to do with athletics, you can read on. If
you’re just not sure what I’m talking about, go back a few posts and it will
become clear – I don’t run! As “dear
friend” reminded me just this morning, my kind of triathlon is eating a pizza,
a doughnut, and hot fudge sundae! As absurd as my “announcement” is, it’s
comparable to the ludicrousness I find in politicians weighing in on education
and what’s best for kids while removing millions of dollars in funding from
budgets, and instead pouring it hand over fist to “for profit” companies. Insanity abounds as billionaires lead
everyone to believe our kids are falling miserably behind other nations and
they know the exact quick fix and furthering the absurdity is commissioners who
lay heavy burdens & mandates on schools, shovel insults at parents and
teachers in public forums; all while having no experience, as a parent or
teacher, in a public school classroom.
What commissioners, politicians, and billionaires don’t see are
REAL classrooms....the places we all live each day where there are NO cameras,
no media frenzy, no photo opportunities.
I live in a place where we see hunger and stress, poverty and wealth,
sameness and differences, success and struggle.
I don’t need insults slung constantly at a profession that I’ve worked
my tail off at with the passion, drive, and frankly love I have for the children and the remarkable minds they bring to my room each day. If for one minute these people believe that
beating us down is the way to produce quality in education, they sure have a
lesson or three to learn! My cousin, a
retired Super of a very large, prominent school district, once told me he could
get anyone to try anything as long as they knew he believed in them.
I don’t need a module, a scripted, “minion-ized” lesson, to
tell me how to teach. I won’t stand for producing superficial, robotic
learners. Every day I teach standards
and most importantly I know how to produce developmentally appropriate challenges
that make kids think, ponder, question, evaluate, and discuss. My kids are challenged every day with
questions I pose or ideas and challenges I throw out at them that are standards
based however what I do “looks” different and is often perceived as “odd” or
“wrong” according to traditional classroom standards.
Perhaps if you walked by my room you’d think I was clearly out
of my mind. I have a “living room” full
of books, cozy chairs, and yes a bathtub.
Many of my kids work on the floor or work in another area kneeling at
the coffee table. Environment is
critical to me, but what it looks like is only one part of what goes on in my
room. Kids who don’t like school learn
to love it, kids who think little of themselves as learners see themselves as
brilliant, and kids who aren't motivated begin moving mountains. During recent research about owls a student,
who struggles to focus and produce work, but is a VERY bright boy, jumped up
(almost knocking things clear off the table) and yelled, “Yes! I finally found it!”...and then realized that
e-v-e-r-y single person in the room knew he found something! This boy was adamant that he WAS going to
find out everything he could on the anatomy of an owl and we celebrated his
success and he shared it with others – his perseverance and resolve to find
answers was inspiring. When we recently
introduced the Word of the Week, my teammates and I wore masks the first day
and dressed “incognito” as characters from “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” on
another. The excitement was palpable. But, there’s not one student who at any given
time couldn't thoroughly explain what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and
what they've learned. The challenges
provided can always link back to the standards, but I would feel slighted as a
professional and delinquent in stretching my kids’ thinking and evaluating if I
simply read from a module/script. Unfortunately,
out of fear and being continually torn down, we've been minimized to believing
that the only way to cover new standards is to follow a prescribed script. We believe that it is our “fault” that other nations
perform better on testing, that our students are failing simply based on a
number, so we best follow one prescription.
Each morning as I go step by step from lamp to lamp I sike myself
up for another great day where I can’t imagine what will be uncovered, where
kids will have themselves excited about learning. There’s nothing spectacular about me.....it’s
a mindset.......it takes time. Are there
bad days? I’d be a liar if I said “no”. But each day I find that strong resolve to
fight on.
I urge you to rethink and reflect on your room. Just as there is NO WAY the Olympic Committee
would ever let me change what they do without a fight (let’s be honest....or
let me NEAR an athlete!), there is NO WAY that I’m going to let politicians or
billionaires completely take over my classroom or my kids’ education without a
fight. With the pressures we’re under and the mud that is slung, we have to
refocus on what we know is best for kids within our classrooms and within the
standards, whether we agree with them or not.
We need to resolve to believe in ourselves and our abilities to guide
and challenge students, to push and pull their minds, to require and refine. We need to reach out to people we trust and
challenge and hold each other up along this journey.
On our way home from speed skating qualifiers this afternoon, Beez
and her friend Min, a kid I adore, were chatting about their teachers - teenagers are SO interesting to listen to! Of course I’d weigh in here & there and
play devil’s advocate. They brought up
an interesting debate they had had after a teacher asked about “cheating”. I gave my very strong opinion against what
their teacher had said and what I firmly believe about what happened. At that point Min said, “Mrs. W, you’re right
about kids being resourceful and persevering. It's how you teach kids. I mean have you ever really looked at the kids who walk out of your room
at the end of every year???”
If you’ll excuse me, I hear a triathlon calling my name.
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