My heart is broken-I am shaken to my core.
Picking up a prescription, I overheard a teenage girl explaining why she was on a laundry list of medications. The reason; she had just been released from the hospital after checking herself in on a 51/50 hold. If you don't know what that is, it is usually an involuntary psychiatric hold for those that are in danger of hurting themselves or others. This brave girl couldn't have been older than 17 or 18 with a hurt so intense that she admitted herself. Heart broken. This is where it gets awkward. My heart and mind race back and forth between empathetic action and conforming social norms. There is what I wanted to do and there is what I did do. I wanted to grab her and hug her and tell her that she matters. I wanted her to know that if she could just push past, there is an amazing life ahead. I wanted to let her know that she is valued and she is worthy of love, caring and belonging. I wanted to cry with her and I wanted to hear her story. I wanted to give her perspective and show her that she is needed. I wanted to tell her how brave she was for getting help and reaching out. I wanted to let her know that she will, in fact, be ok. But I didn't. I couldn't. All I could do was get in my car and cry. All I could do was create the above quote and share it out. All I could do was think about all of those in her same situation. Those who were not fortunate enough to reach out for help, but so desperately needed it. All I could do was reach out to some of those I care about, and let them know I care. All I could do was try to figure out a way in which to help. We can all help. We can help by being vocal. We can help by letting others know their worth. That they matter. That they have a purpose. That they are loved. That they are worthy of care and belonging. We don't share enough. Why? Why is this not the norm? Why are people uncomfortable letting others know how they feel? Why is showing emotion, taboo? How is that working for us? Based on the stories I have born witness to, not very well. So let's try something different. Think about those people that you encounter daily...students, colleagues, friends, family, neighbors, enemies, strangers. They all have a story...they are all dealing with their own truths. We have no idea of knowing what is going on in someone's head or in someone's heart. In this, we do not have any control. What we do have control over is how we interact with others. We may just be the ONLY interaction someone has that day- what do you want that mark to be? But here is the thing. If we are going to do this, we need to be authentic in it. It needs to come from a vulnerable, caring place. There is nothing worse than inauthentic words- they have the complete opposite effect. We also need to be utterly in tune to the receiver. In this instance- if I would have inserted myself into this young girl's conversation, it would not have worked. I did not know her, she did not know me. In fact, I was just an outsider who happened to hear. Would things have gone differently if she was conversing with me? Absolutely! Would she have received what I wanted to say? That is unknown. So... My call to action is this: Let us live our lives with intent. Let our actions and words help to lift others up. They are free but have incredible power. Let's use that power for good. You don't know how many stories I have heard about how someone's kind words or actions have changed the trajectory of someone's day-- or life. #choosekind
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"But I don't do anything special...". How would you respond to this child in your care? How would you respond to this colleague? How would you respond to this friend? Now...I want you to think about how many times you say that phrase...about yourself. Either in your head or out loud. Hmmm...does your response change?
I have heard this phrase (or similar) a lot lately. One of the things that I am passionate about is sharing forward. Over the last year and a half, I have been blessed with meeting and collaborating with the most incredible minds and beautiful hearts. I have grown incredibly because of them. I want others to experience this as well, so I ask them to share their ideas and stories with others. I am often hit with "But I don't do anything special...". It is interesting to me that no matter who they are...how accomplished they are...regardless of role, title, success or fame...many people have doubt. They question themselves; their purpose and wonder if they are making a difference. Either that or they don't realize their own impact. When people share these things, my response is two fold. On the one hand, I try to guide them in changing their perspective. To see themselves as I see them, because I do see their "special". The second thing is to make sure that they never stop questioning themselves. Well, that seems counter intuitive, right? But hear me out. To me, one of the best qualities of a leader is humility. Although I want others to see their own "great", I also don't want that to over take them. It is the humbleness that makes them great. It is what makes them self reflect, challenge their own ideas and seek to grow. If someone loses that humbleness, that someone loses their effectiveness to connect with others and create change. So when someone shares with me that they don't think they are doing anything different, or they don't see their impact...I ask them to zoom out for two reasons: 1) Birds of a feather: It is in our nature to gravitate to those who are like minded. This is very powerful, because we are social beings. We need others. We grow with others. We stretch with others. But what also happens is, when we spend so much time with like minded individuals, we tend to forget that not all think and do the same. When this happens, we start to believe "I'm not doing anything different than everyone else", because we start to see our "everyone" as those in our circle. So I ask them to zoom out, and start to look at a wider sampling. By doing this, the hope is that their is a change in perspective about themselves. That they see they ARE doing things differently. After that realization, it is up to the individual to grapple with that and use that information, forward. 2) See the forest beyond the trees: It is hard to keep going when we don't see the impact of our actions. It is also hard to see our impact when we are in the middle of it. So many of the highly influential people I know; shockingly do not realize their reach...their impact on others. This can cause frustration at times, especially when the going gets tough. But when one can zoom out and really take a look, the hope is that they can see the truth clearly. That everything they say and do impacts others, and those others will impact others and so on...there is a ripple effect. We all have the potential for great power...but with power comes great responsibility. So it is important to check our reach, to keep us in line with our own purpose as we move forward and continue our impact. My call to action is this: Take some time to look at yourself from a different perspective. My friends Jon Corippo and David Culberhouse often talk about looking from the 30,000 foot view of organizations. But let's use the same idea when we are reflecting on ourselves. Change your perspective and it will change you. "Why do you care?". Just four words. Pretty simple question. But it captured all of my thoughts yesterday. This question was posed after I was venting to a friend. I was sharing some frustration about what I call "running on the hamster wheel". I feel like I just keep saying the same thing and I am not being heard, so why do I keep talking? Sounds like there should be a logical solution to that problem. Just. Stop. But I can't. Why? My answer to the question was this. "I guess I care because we can do better, because our students deserve better." If I didn't care and I didn't keep fighting the good fight, I wouldn't be me. I have learned, as of late, that I am a fighter and fighters don't quit. This idea of starting with "why" is not a new concept. Most of us have either read or seen Simon Sinek's Ted Talk. But I think this is an extremely important concept when we are self reflecting. To me, our "why" is our purpose and our purpose is what grounds us. It is also our compass, our thermometer and our springboard. In the book Emotional Agility; Susan David writes "Walking with your why" is the art of living by your own personal set of values- the beliefs and behaviors that you hold dear and that give you meaning and satisfaction. " Whenever I feel uncertain about my path, whether it is chatter from others or chatter in my head...it always helps to focus back on my true purpose. Is what I am doing and saying aligned with that? If so, I feel more confident in moving forward, if not...time to course correct. This idea of finding and pulling from our purpose has come up in a lot of conversations lately. I have learned that regardless of who someone is, their role, their title, their success...there is struggle and there is doubt. We are all human. In those times, people often begin to question themselves, personally. Are they making a difference? Is this worth the fight? Am I good enough? Am I on the right path? Can I do this? Why bother? This is when it is most important to refocus on our "why". If what we are doing is not aligned with our purpose, then maybe we need to rethink our line of action. But, as Dr. David writes "To make decisions that match up with the way you hope to live going forward, you have to be in touch with the things that matter to you so you can use them as signposts." When people share with me that they are at a crossroads, questioning themselves, I often take them through a series of questions to get them to hone down on their purpose. Once they are armed with that, they can "walk their why". This blog post was inspired by many conversations as of late, but it was also inspired by a single tweet from my good friend, Tony Sinanis:
This is why I believe so much in self reflection and spelling out your purpose. So when someone asks you why you care, you...yourself know the answer. When you are "walking your why", you have YOUR signposts to help guide you in YOUR right direction.
My call to action is this: Take some time to write out your "why". I like to do this as a "Six word memoir". The reason I do that is because I believe the constraints help us to synthesize and really focus, drill down to our core. I created mine four years ago and it is displayed above my desk. I look to it often as my anchor. "One who inspires and encourages others." If I am not living that every day, I am not being me. A few years ago, one of our Middle School principals shared an activity she did at her site. She printed out pictures of every student on the campus and hung them up in the teachers' lounge. The teachers were to put a tally mark under the picture if they spoke to the student that day. What was the outcome? Realization. Shocking realization. Some students had 0 tally marks. Some students went through an entire school day without any adult contact. That is heart breaking. This is not to fault the teachers, this is to call attention to this idea. What are the implications from this exercise and what changes were made? But here is a layer I would like to add. How many of those tally marks were marked because the teacher talked TO the student rather than WITH them? There is a difference. Stop and think about that for a second... I often say that words matter, because they absolutely do. This is an immense responsibility. How are we using this power?
Here's the thing. This does not only hold true for our students...it holds true for all people, young and old. I believe that we don't tell people enough what they mean to us. We don't share our appreciation, our caring thoughts, our genuine care for one another. This is not the norm, but why? If these sentiments are genuine, coming from the heart, they should be shared. But if it is just inauthentic lip service, it could have a detrimental effect. There is a difference and it is felt. We usually do not know what others are dealing with...everyone has doubt, struggle, issues. No one's are bigger or worse than another because it is their reality. So let us be more cognizant of the effects of our words and be intentional with them. Let us use them to create good...to create positive...to make a difference. They just might be exactly what someone needs. Be the difference.
Change. That one word evokes so many different emotions. Why? Because those six letters have an incredible magnitude. Over the past four years, I have been both fascinated and frustrated with the change process. I have read many research articles on topics such as Implementation Science. I have read many books describing different change theories. And I have had numerous discussions with many bright minds on all things "change". My conclusion is...change is difficult. Large change is extremely difficult. But so what? Does that mean we just don't make the effort? Most days, I feel like it isn't worth it because in the end, there is little, if any movement. BUT I also know that if we are not trying to solve the problem, we are just contributing to it. So...WE can do hard things, because we need to. Our kids are counting on us.
In a recent post: "Stop The Insanity", I wrote about a math lesson that I observed. This could have been any lesson in any classroom. Things need to change. But how? I have thought long and hard on this and here are some of my thoughts. I am going to use Math as my example, but insert any educational idea for clarity. Start with a Mindset shift: This is so incredibly difficult, changing minds...but I believe if this step isn't conquered, the rest will not be sustained. Our wold, our students, our future are continually changing at a rapid rate. Education, instruction and classrooms must change with it. How can it not? But for some, it hasn't. I go to my former schools for Back To School Night and Open House and they are not much different from when I went to school. I have been through 13 years of school with my own children and have seen worksheets that are dated from when I did them as a student. I have witnessed frustration to complete endless problems that are not understood. Why do we need to change? Because everything else has. I believe that in order to change mindset, we must create urgency. The urgency is our future and our students' futures. They don't need rote memorization skills, they don't need copy notes off the board skills. They need the skills that will help them to be adaptable and agile in the real world because that world is yet unknown. They need to be critical thinkers, creative problem solvers who aren't afraid of risk taking and persevere through many iterations. Under mindset, I believe there are three ideas we need to consider: 1)The Myth of Average: In Todd Rose's TedX Talk, he pleads the case that there is no "average" student, so we need to change the way we teach. He talks about "designing to the edges" to meet the needs of our diverse learners. I have written about this idea here. Because of this, we can no longer teach one way. We can not "shoot down the middle". We can not say we did a "reteach" by just redoing the exact same lesson. We must meet the students where they are. To do this, we must take the time to first know them. Then we must be equipped with a large tool belt of strategies and ideas to pull from, to meet them. The unfortunate part is that I don't think many educators have had the opportunities to add many tools. Maya Angelou said "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, you do better." When I was in the classroom, I never visited other rooms, I didn't see others teach, so how could I do better? Luckily, I had an instructional coach come in to my room to do a two day math lesson...and she changed me. She demonstrated how to ask questions to elicit thinking in my students. She showed me how to pose problems to get them talking and struggling in math. But had I not had that one experience, I very well could have been teaching the same way I was taught. Luckily now, with so many resources at our fingertips, we no longer need to be on an island. Teachers can learn and collaborate at any time, any where. But beyond that, we need to create opportunities for them to see others, collaborate and grow their toolkit. 2) Change the tasks: We need to be looking at what the students are doing through out their day. Not what the teacher is doing, the students. Are they being passive learners, "listening" to the teacher or are they digging in and doing the work? One of the easiest checks I use when creating experiences for students is the 4 Cs. Are they critically thinking, communicating, collaborating, creating? If not, we need to change the task. Another idea is that less is more. Specifically in math...we need to have students dig deeper, not wider. I used to have my students spend a whole math period working through one problem. Why? More bang for their buck. The conversations, thinking and understanding about math were far more complex with that one problem, than if I would have had them spend the time doing 30 of the same problem. The difference? The task. Students were given "low floor, high ceiling" problems. They were open ended tasks that all students could access (low floor) but could take it as far as they are able (high ceiling) and stretch beyond, with scaffolds. They were asked to first think on their own and then with a group. There was productive struggle which leads to deeper learning. But it didn't end there. There was always discussion. Not lecture, not me showing them how...discussion on how they solved the problem. They did the talking, they did the teaching, they did the learning. And the proof was in the pudding. My students (at a Title 1 school) always hit it out of the park on the standardized math tests. Why? Because they had an understanding and had the ability and stamina to think and work through the problems. 3) Honor and celebrate divergent thinking: Just like there is no average student, there is no longer "one way" to solve a problem. This is uncomfortable as the teacher, as I have lived it. But it isn't about us, it's about them and the pay off is tremendous! We need to allow, encourage and celebrate different ideas in the classroom. We need to be the "activator" in the classroom, we are not the one with all the answers. To do this, we must offer open ended tasks where students feel safe to discuss their ideas. One tactic I used, that left the students empowered was I was just the scribe. When students shared their ideas, I simply wrote it out in real time. I then named it ("Brian's Way") and we talked about "Brian's Way". By the end of the Math Talk, there were multiple students' "Ways" charted to be hung up in the classroom. This not only empowered the student that shared the idea, but it also gave the rest of the class ideas in which to hold on to and build. These are just some preliminary thoughts that I often share in different settings, but decided it was time to write them out. Will these ideas change the world? Probably not. Will they change our students? Absolutely. And those students can change our world. Here we are, Thanksgiving 2017... The holidays can be a time of joy, family, fun, stress and for some, sadness and loneliness. The holidays seem to amplify every emotion we have bubbling under the surface. I spent a lot of time yesterday doing something different. I decided to send "Gratitude Messages" to some important people in my life. I did this not only to help lift others up, but to help lift myself up as well.
Many years ago, I heard Oprah speak about a "Gratitude Journal" that she kept. She wrote in it every day. Throughout the day, she would jot things in that journal. Sometimes they were big things, but often times, they were the little things. One of her examples was being grateful for waking up. That is something that we often take for granted, but we probably shouldn't. Her reason? When you go through the day, looking for things to be grateful for, it changes your day and it changes you. I loved this idea, so I started my own. I will be honest that it has a lot on the first few pages and it has been blank for the past few years. This doesn't mean that there were not things to be grateful for, I just didn't write them down. BUT, from that first day forth...I do set an intent to go through the day looking for those "bright spots" no matter how big or how small...it really does change you. Another interesting thing...this morning, I went back and re-read my blog post from last Thanksgiving (this is something I rarely do), I don't even remember writing it. In it, I decided to reflect on things in my life that I was thankful for...this one below, stuck out today: "My experiences: We are all shaped by our experiences, it is what we choose to do with those experiences that make the difference. We can choose to either repeat or change those stories for others. I choose to help create a new narrative. Through my experiences, I have learned how much people need to feel valued and appreciated. We are all doing the best we can, at the time, with what we have...and often times, we feel it isn't enough. So I have made a conscious effort to always...always let people know that they are important and valued. I try my best to show appreciation and let them know about all the good that they are doing. This is completely authentic and sincere, and I hope that is how it comes across. I have also learned how important it is to support and help others grow. I try to find that "thing" in everyone and foster and grow that." I still believe this. That is why I sent those "Gratitude Messages" yesterday. But here is the thing. Thanksgiving is not the only day that I send those, for those exact reasons I wrote about last year. I often, randomly let people know that they are valued and appreciated. For most people, they don't seem to know what to do with me when I send them. I usually send a "warning" message first that things are about to get #mushy :). But why? Why are people uncomfortable with words of gratitude? Is it because it is not the norm? Is it because they don't believe it? I always hesitate before I say or send them, because I don't want to put people off...but I believe that people need to hear about their good. There is enough negative chatter both inside and outside of our own heads, we need a different narrative. So this is why I do it...and here is the thing...it is completely authentic. I am not one to blow smoke, I don't say things that I don't believe. So here is my call to action: Don't wait until this specific holiday to look for and appreciate what you are grateful for. Let those in your life know that they matter. You friends, family, colleagues and most importantly, your students. We all want to know we are valued and cared about...let's not leave people wondering. Make everyday a Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! This week was one of those weeks...you know the one where frustration and doubt are front and center? Where you let those negative thoughts consume you, detour you, get you down. This is when I am so thankful to have people in my corner who not only support me, but keep me straight. I started spinning on something that had nothing to do with me and I had no control over, yet I spiraled in to "I'm done...I can't make a difference...why even try?". I started questioning my purpose, whether I was better off when I was in my four walls, oblivious to what was happening outside...when I was small and quiet. That is when I got the text "Ignore the chatter, focus on the mission". But I had to ask the question back "What IS my mission?" The response was "Changing school". Well there it is, can't argue with that one. The next question was, how do I do that? I have very limited control or power to create change. In which I was hit with... Truth...in my face! Time to pick myself up...stop whining and fight. We all have a megaphone, how do we choose to use it? We must use our platforms to create a difference...for the better. My megaphone reach may not be far or wide, but that doesn't matter. As long as it is used for good.
I believe I personally have four platforms: Blogging Conversations Presentations Within each of those, I always weave through the same ideas, questions and themes. These are the things that I am passionate about, so they can't help but come through. Anyone that has read any of these blogs, exchanged tweets or words with me, should know my purpose. And my friend hit is on the nose: Change school. Our kids deserve better! Everything I do, falls under that umbrella. It is interesting as I have found, especially this week, that I am not alone in feeling uncertain of my path, of my purpose. That same night, I found myself telling someone else "You are needed...you are blazing a much needed path for others to follow. Suit up, stand up and fight passionately for your purpose.". I have said before that I am my own "Worst Advocate" as I can easily encourage others to do the things that I need others to encourage me. So here is my call to action: Find your megaphone and use it! Everyone has one...how can you use it to evoke positive change? What is your purpose, your passion? Pursue that, share that and know that you ALWAYS have the power to make a difference. YOU are needed! Use your voice. Use that megaphone for good! One of my fondest memories as a kid was "Family Game Night". Every time I think about this, I am reminded of one particular game and one particular night. One of my favorite games to play was "Pictionary". My dad had only two shapes in his drawing tool kit-a square or an oval. On this evening, he drew his oval and then pointed to it. We shouted out answer ideas. He continued to point. We continued with more answers. Now the pointing got faster. We just couldn't get it, so he tried a different strategy. He drew a twin oval and pointed. As the time began to run out, the pointing got more frantic and filled with frustration. We just couldn't figure it out. Time was up. A baked potato! Geez, how could we not have figured it out? (insert sarcasm here). This became a huge source of laughter because of the ridiculousness of it all. How did he expect us to change our understanding...our answers, if his delivery did not change? Pointing more frequently and frantically did not change the fact that we had no idea what he was drawing.
Fast forward to a math class. The teacher has pulled a small group of students that "needed help", to the front white board. She stood in front of them, students sitting at her feet, workbooks on laps. She explained how to do a math problem (I don't even remember what it was). She talked and the students listened. She then told them that they aren't "getting it" so she was going to show them again. So she did..., the exact same way. She again told them that they weren't "getting it" and this time showed them the same way again, but a little louder and more aggressive. This went on and on for a good 20 minutes while the rest of the class who "got it", was supposed to be doing their workbook pages. Well, they weren't, they didn't understand the problems that lay before them, either. So they just talked to each other, about everything besides the math. This teacher was obviously annoyed at the students for not understanding the concept. This was very apparent as an observer, so I know it was very apparent to the students. I did not find this humorous like the baked potato scenario. I felt extremely uncomfortable and sad. I was not there to evaluate, judge or give feedback, so all I could do was leave. I couldn't take it anymore. My heart was broken...it was broken for those students and the many others who have had similar experiences with other teachers, at other schools, in other grades. "Louder and slower" does not equal learning, it does not equal teaching and it does not equal differentiation. If students are struggling, it is on us, the adults, to do something differently. We can't blame the students. Try a different strategy, ask a different question, get the students talking and doing. Use what you see and hear to decide what triage needs to happen. My friend David Culberhouse always talks about the idea that our students need to be agile and adaptive to best be ready for the future. I believe we, as teachers need to be this way too. We need to be flexible and armed with multiple tools and strategies to meet our students where they are. The only way to do this is to know them, understand them and work for them. In the above scenario, a few small tweeks could have made the difference. Instead of standing in front of the students, the teacher could have been sitting with them. This tiny shift would lower the students' affective filter and because of the proximity to the students, the teacher could get a grasp of the students' thinking. Another small change is not talk at the students, but involve them in the learning. Pose questions and give them time to think and struggle. When there is cognitive dissonance, the learning and stickiness increases. We need to allow the time and space for this. We don't need to fill every space with our own voices. We need to hear their voices. Rather than empty workbooks on laps, why not white boards so every student can be showing visible thinking? Instead of showing steps of an algorithm, pose an open ended question and let students figure out a way that makes sense to them. Then let them share with their peers. One idea can spark another and another...The students need to be at the center of everything we do, they need to be the ones talking and working. Our students deserve better than us pointing at the same oval, expecting a different answer. They deserve to be seen, heard and understood. They need to be considered. Plain and simple. When we can do this, we can reach them. It is also important to note that as Todd Rose states in "The Myth Of Average" there is no average student. We must design to the edges. We must be cognizant of who our students are, their strengths, weaknesses and learning styles. What works for one, may not work for another. We need to adapt that oval drawing so that each and every student we serve, can identify that baked potato. We can't expect students to have a different understanding if we don't teach in different ways. In fact, isn't that the definition of insanity? My call to action is to rethink what we are doing to kids. Let's work for them and with them. We are in a service business, after all. "What does a typical day look like?", "What would your plan book typically look like for the week?"
These are questions that I have been asked multiple times over the years, more so now, than ever. I really struggle to come up with an answer. There is what I want to say and there is what I should say. Here in lies the struggle...the limbo. Let me rewind a bit. When I began my position four years ago, there was a shift away from the boxed curriculum because the old stuff was not aligned with the new standards. YES! For me, this was exciting...I was blessed that my past administrators ditched the textbooks before it was cool. Seriously. They led by "meet students where they are, by whatever means necessary". At first, this was scary...where was my safety net if I didn't follow the book? Where do my lessons come from? How do I know what my students are learning? But I quickly learned that the best way to get students to learn, was to first know the students. I knew my students. Because of this, I was able to tailor their learning to best meet their needs. This meant that I didn't keep a neat plan book. I had objectives, goals for the students and activities and strategies to get them there. But my lessons flowed with THEM. I used my understanding of where they were, their needs and where they needed to go, to guide the learning. This did not mean that I did not work, that I did not plan, that I came in unprepared. In fact, it meant the opposite. It meant that I needed to be armed with a very large arsenal of ideas, strategies, protocols and materials in which to draw upon at any given moment. I learned to enjoy not having net. I appreciated the autonomy to be able to reach my kids without the worry of being compliant, fidelitous or race to finish a textbook. How did this work for me? That really doesn't matter...what matters is, how did this work for my students? Well, it worked out incredibly. My students left my room feeling like confident critical thinkers and creators. They left feeling like readers, writers, mathematicians and scientists. They left having deep understanding of how and why things worked. They left with their heads held high. I don't believe this would have happened had I followed the teacher's manual and cranked out worksheets. Like my friend Jon Corippo says "Has anyone ever congratulated you for finishing the textbook?" I sure hope not. Fast forward to the present, we are at a time when new curriculum has been purchased. Teachers are now in limbo...how do they keep doing the awesome things they created when they didn't have to follow a curriculum AND also fit in this new box? You don't. You create experiences for the students that sit before you. You use the resources you have and you meet those in which you serve, right where they are...then you move them forward. So my response to those questions about "typical" days and weeks is now this: I can not answer what a typical day looks like because there is no such thing. My students are different than your students and your students are different than her students hers are different than his. In fact, they are all different from each other. Thank goodness for this! Can you imagine if they were all the same? So, we need to shift our focus away from curriculum and move it to the students. What works for one student in my class, may not work for one in yours or it just might...so let's have those conversations and share. There is no "typical" student, there is no "typical" classroom there is no "typical" day. And I believe there is no "typical" teacher. To me, this is beautiful! If the curriculum states that we do certain activities on each day and the goal is to test the students on Friday, we need to really think about our purpose. What happens if our students are not on "track"? What if they are struggling with concepts on Tuesday and Wednesday...does it make sense to just plow through to officially show them what they don't know on a test on Friday? So my call to action is this...let us rethink our purpose in education. Is it to finish the book or is it to help our students to become learners? I understand that the way I am proposing, is a more difficult path for us as the teacher...we need to work harder to create, collaborate, collect ideas-but who are we in this for? We chose this profession to help students, let's not lose focus on that. It's about the kids...always about the kids. Pernille Ripp reminded me of this quote from my friends Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo at Fall CUE. "The Problem: We set schools up for adults, not for kids." Let's flip the switch on this. It's for the kids! I don't know about you, but I often wonder..."Why am I here?" I talk a lot about purpose, because it is something I think about multiple times, daily. Am I living my life the way I should? Am I doing what I am meant to do? Am I fulfilling my purpose?
With these thoughts, comes the doubt. Am I good enough? Is there value in what I do? Am I making any difference? Welcome to the movie that plays on loop within my head. I set an intention every day, to live my truth, to share my truth and to do good. But am I? Am I living up to my potential? Am I on the right journey with the right purpose? Sometimes I just look around and wonder. Do I belong? At times, this wondering can lead down a negative road, but it can also lead to a hugely positive one. It all depends on what happens at the fork. I was lucky enough to hear Brad Montague keynote a few days ago at Fall CUE. EVERYTHING he said resonated with me. Everything. I was sitting front row and center and I don't know how I managed to not cry throughout. One of the many profound things that he said was "You are perfectly cast". I felt that one right in the heart, wind knocked out of me, wet eyes wide open. If I wasn't surrounded by a row full of strangers, I may have just broken down right there. I wholeheartedly believe that one thing that all humans want to know is that they have worth. I believe that people often question their own worth...this leads to doubt, fear and road blocks. These things can be holding back a lot of people from a whole lot of great. So what if we all just flip the switch? What if instead of wondering "Why am I here?" let us wonder "What is my role here? I am perfectly cast to be right here and right now. What am I going to do with it?". That little switch, at least for me, makes a world of difference. Instead of burrowing down the rabbit hole, I use my looping movie as a launch pad, a spring board. I am here now...let's make this great! How can I use what I have to help create something positive? I can only think back to how much heart ache and pain I could have avoided, had someone just said those words to me "You are perfectly cast". So let us be that for someone else. Let's let other know their power, their strength, their good, their value, their potential. Let's let them know that they are seen and they are worthy and they matter. Let's let them know that they are right where they should be and they are exactly who they should be and that we are happy to know them and that they are amazing. This holds true for adults as well as students. My call to action is to brighten someone's day tomorrow and the next day and the next. We are all perfectly cast...but we all don't know it...yet. |
Mother, Teacher, Administrator, Presenter, GCE Level 1 & 2, Encourager of others.
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February 2023
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