What Kind of Sailor are You?

“The sea was angry that day.”  This is a line from Ernest Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea. It is also a quote of George Costanza from an episode of Seinfeld.  The severity of sea storms have two things that contribute to its severity – the force of the wind and the state of the water.  A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.  There are ways that skillful sailors navigate through raging seas.  Interesting enough, one of those strategies is to move to deeper water.  This is because nearer to shore there are stronger currents, shoals, and other underwater water obstructions that make sailing treacherous.  Skillful sailors also chart their course of travel and know where the tough spots are.  A third strategy for mariners in difficult weather is toshorten their sails as this helps to balance the vessel.  A balanced boat will not have excessive windward (upwind) or leeward (downwind) in high winds.  Lastly, skillful mariners prepare the crew to combat whatever comes their way and do not ignore the need to practice safety precautions and tough seas.  If only Gilligan and the Skipper would have done some of these things, perhaps they wouldn’t have become shipwrecked with a “Professor” who could build a two-wave radio out of a coconut shell, but couldn’t fix a hole in the boat. Don’t get that reference?  Ask your parents…or grandparents.

Teaching can sometimes be akin to sailing through raging seas.  This comes in many forms from increased demands on what to teach, increased accountability, changing academic standards,  student absences, less than ideal classroom temperatures, school funding, school grades,  lack of parental involvement and so forth. Guess what?  You cannot control any of these!  It is important that you focus on what you can control.  As we sail through the school year, it is vital to focus on increasing critical thinking by taking your students to deeper waters of understanding – analysis, synthesis, and evaluation on the SS Bloom’s.  Move away from the shore!  We chart our course by intently surveying the ISTEP blueprints provided the state.  Ignoring those blueprints will not lessen the waves; it will only make them stronger.  Also, shorten your sails by decreasing the interval between formative and informal assessments so that your instruction will be informed.  Ignoring the data from these assessments will not cause the winds to cease; it will only make them stronger.  Thirdly, balance your sails by differentiating your instruction and by giving assessments in multiple forms.  Failure to do this will not result in a smooth sea,; it will cause a student shipwreck.  Finally, prepare for teaching by using what you are being taught during professional development opportunities.  Ignoring these strategies will not make you a more skillful classroom mariner; you may end up spending an eternity with Mr. and Mrs. Howell. 

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The Browns travel to Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday to take on the Jaguars.  Okay, this is a game that, on paper, we should win.  Then again, paper never actually won a game.