Burn the Ships!

In 1519 (my sophomore year of high school), Cortez led a Spanish fleet to the eastern coast of Mexico.  All aboard had hoped for a new land full of promise; a land of milk and honey.  What they discovered was a little more than they bargained for – fierce looking Aztec Indians who didn’t look like they wanted to sing kumbaya around a camp fire.  Actually, their Chief, Montezuma, received Cortez and his men warmly and invited them in do exactly that…minus the smores.  Cortez was no dummy and he smelled the scent in the wind that this welcome party was really an act of deception enacted to catch the Spaniards asleep at the wheel.  Then all heck broke loose and the fighting was fierce.Many of Cortez’ men shared with each other their fear and pending desire to return home.  Cortez caught wind of this mutiny and put an end to any chance of return by simply burning their ships. He did leave them with the option of swimming back to Spain.  He pleaded with them to charge on and take what they had worked for months to get.  They did just that and the ensuing battles led to the downfall of the Aztec empire.  Side note = you may have heard of Montezuma’s revenge…that’s where the phrase comes from.  Plus, we all know what drinking the water in Mexico leads to.

In about three weeks, we will again face state testing in the form of ISTEP.  This is a scary time for some of our kids; okay, it’s a scary time for some of you as well.  The results from this testing session and the session in the spring will determine our status as a school in the eyes of the state in terms of student achievement and student growth.  Our results will be published along with the other hundreds of corporations in the state.  Our parents will receive an individualized report on how well Johnny did.  Plus, if you are a teacher in the subject areas being assessed, the achievement and growth scores will “significantly inform” the teacher evaluation.  So, there is a lot riding on these tests and no matter what are personal feelings are about them, they are still a savage that needs to be conquered!  I am telling you that if you have prepared your students academically and emotionally, then burn the ships, we are here to stay!  We have worked far too hard with a focused effort to let anything stand in our way. We’ve passed the point of no return so let the ships burn!