the same building. A day of work ahead, both with the intention of creating, building on past successes, and making progress toward our goals. Assuming we each do our job well we will leave the same building at the end of the day having made a difference. We will have affected change and growth and made advances in our respective endeavors. The changes will be subtle, so much so that we will not even think about them, but if we hadn't shown up, the loss would be felt.
About twenty minutes after our arrival, the front doors open and about 600 middle school students enter the same building. They have yet another set of goals. Or do they? If you were to ask your students what their goal is when they enter the school building, what do you think they would say? I realize this answer will differ depending on the age of your students. As a middle school teacher, and the mother of a high school student, this question holds a lot of weight.
Why does it matter? Let's think about it. Construction workers have their blueprints. They have very specific instructions to follow that will undoubtedly lead them closer and closer to achieving their final goal. Teachers follow lesson plans based on the scope and sequence of their curriculum to guide their instruction day after day, inform their classroom management and instill work habits to help their students grow. Though we may often feel as though we are constantly changing our direction to meet student needs, we really do have an end goal that we are aiming to achieve; work alongside parents to guide children in becoming decent human beings.
But what about our students' purpose? If our students don't know why they are showing up to school, if they don't have a purpose beyond compulsory education, can any of the rest of us entering that building really achieve our goals? Sure, the building will be restored, repaired, and improved. Certainly, lesson plans will be followed, curriculum spoken, and skills modeled. But how much does any of that matter if students don't know what it is they are trying to achieve beyond staying awake until the conclusion of the school day?
As is my way as I'm sharing my thoughts I often pause and go back to read what I have written, and wow those words seem dire. But there is hope and it is in your voice! Since you're here it's probably because you have kids in your life that are important to you. If you're a parent, you want what's best for your children, and you want them to grow into amazing adults. Have you told them that lately? Have you helped them chart the course to their future selves? If you're a teacher, you probably became a teacher because you thought that education was important, and you wanted to help affect the future of our world by teaching children. When is the last time you said as much to your students?
Throughout this portion of this post I have been humming the song "Have I told you lately that I love you?" With the inundation of information and voices that our children have to endure, it is going to become more and more important for us to make sure our voices are heard by them loud and clear and often. They may be too young or too immature to understand the importance of school, but if we keep telling them that we believe it's important, that we believe their effort matters, and that we believe through hard work in school they can become an amazing human being, they will begin to believe it and find purpose in their school day.
Enjoy reading what I write? Copies of my book, Connections Across the Student Desk, are available on Amazon: LINK HERE or Barnes and Noble: LINK HERE
Wish I could come speak to your staff and colleagues? Give me the topic, I'll make it come alive! Contact me! maccaronicrew@outlook.com
