Experiencing the Impossible

I can run, read, calculate, write, analyze, create, dig, cook, and run a blender. I can braid, hug, teach, clean, and blow bubbles. I cannot, however, dunk a basketball.

Standing at 5 foot nothing, dunking basketballs is not my thing. If you yell at me, I will not dunk a basketball. If you call me names, I will not dunk a basketball. You can offer to give me stickers and M & Ms . . . no dunking. Make me sit alone in a hallway, still no dunking. Have a meeting with my parents to discuss my refusal to dunk; probably won’t help. BUT . . . lead me to the gym, show me the basket, teach me to climb the ladder, hold the ladder while I climb, and I just might have the resources and confidence to climb that ladder and stuff the basketball in.

We ask some of our students to dunk basketballs everyday. We yell, belittle, bribe, punish, and discuss; but, still no basket. It isn’t until we take their hands in ours, lead the way, and MAKE them experience success that they will put the ball in. Can we do this for every skill in every subject? Of course not! Will we have to? Probably not. Most of us have hundreds of skills we are perfectly competent with, but there are some feats that seem insurmountable. This is when Vygotsky taught us to build a scaffold, lend a hand, and find a way to make it happen. It isn’t easy and sometimes it feels very unnatural, but that is what teachers DO. After it is demonstrated that a skill is possible, once they have tasted success, students can begin to build those scaffolds on their own. BUT . . . they must experience to believe.

I Get Where You're Coming From

I was a kindergarten teacher, and in kindergarten we had centers. Jason entered the classroom one morning and noticed a tray filled with purple tissue paper squares. With an alarmed expression, he exclaimed, “Teacher! Why you have rolling papers at school?!?” I calmly explained that there were many uses for tissue paper, and at school we used them to make flowers.

That night, I was on the phone with my mom. I shared the tissue paper story. Through giggles she said, “He thought you were going to give a PERM!” It took awhile for me to explain that Jason did NOT think we were going to give perms.

As professionals that build little brains, we seek to create connections. Linking concepts to prior knowledge requires a teacher to have an understanding of a child’s background and experiences. These experiences may not be ideal, but they belong to that child. We all want to be seen and heard. Acknowledging a child’s world is not only good teaching, it demonstrates caring and respect.

Time to Boogaloo

Empty the shelves. Order supplies for next year. Create your schedule. Finish entering grades. The end of the year checklist is exhausting. The children are counting the hours, and the staff is counting the minutes. Visions of summer are dancing in our heads.

Be kind to yourself as you approach the end and take a little time to boogaloo. Celebrate all you have accomplished. The words read and written, art created, games played, and friendship shared. Think of how special the year was, and the experiences we had. In the midst of the chaos and commotion, take a moment to reflect, smile, and shake your tail feather.

Graduation Day

The class of 2012 graduated from Newell-Fonda High School today. The song was sung, diplomas distributed, and the crowd adjourned to the parties.

Now what?

Where will they go? What will they become? Did we give them enough?

The principal announced that many of the students spent twelve or more years in our institution. Were these years a wise investment? Did we prepare them? Did we waste their time?

After they have forgotten the capitol of North Dakota and cosign, what will they remember? Will they be kind? Brave? Strong and generous?

Will they become leaders, parents, workers, caregivers?

Can they survive illness, bankruptcy, loss, and grief?

Did we teach them these things? Did they see them in us? Will they succeed because of us or in spite of us? What do we teach our children?