Take the Fall

I was initiated into the professional world of education as a preschool teacher in an ideal classroom with an ideal storage closet. This beauty was was a walk in with custom-made shelves for manipulatives, posters, and construction paper. There were drawers for storage, amazing overhead lighting, and plenty of space. It was larger than any of the bathrooms in any of the houses I have ever owned. If Sports Illustrated had a closet edition, this baby would have been the centerfold. Yes, I was in love.

As with any relationship, there was an obstacle. My full height is five foot nothing. For me to fully utilize this supermodel of storage units, I had to crawl the shelves and counters like a monkey. Of all the things I loved about this closet, the possibility of falling and cracking my head open did not top the list. I fretted and stewed about what I could stick on the top shelves that I did not need often, that was properly labeled, and would not cause a concussion when I dropped it on my head. My fear of falling off the top of that closet was a road block I had to maneuver around on a daily basis.

You know what’s coming . . . yep, about four years later, I was re-organizing, AGAIN. Convinced that through better organization I could get an additional nickel’s worth of space and completely enrich my life, I shimmied onto the top shelf to work some magic. I twisted a little too far and took the plunge; eight foot down, slowed by a bounce on the counter, and right on the end God padded.

Ya know what? I lived. A scratch, a few bruises, but it wasn’t that bad. I got up, finished the job, and lived to fall again. Sort of made me wonder why I was afraid in the first place.

What fall are you afraid of? Teaching a different grade, trying a new approach to writing instruction, video taping your classroom . . . ? What would you do if you weren’t afraid? What’s preventing you from climbing? Even worse, what are we modeling? If we constantly play it safe, teach the same lessons that we have always taught, using the same units we are comfortable with; what are we teaching our students? Maybe the fall isn’t as dangerous that the barriers the fear creates.