When Mary and I
were in college, we had very little money to spend on “luxury” items
like going out to a movie and dinner, the fraternity dance, concerts,
etc. I recall quite vividly many Saturday nights spent going to Mass in
the mental hospital located on the IUPUI
medical campus and splitting a can of Campbell’s soup
in the nurses’ dorm at Wishard Hospital for dinner.
We followed that with a big bowl of popcorn and sat down to watch a Saturday
night lineup of Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, NBC News,
and finish it off with Saturday Night Live. Yep, we were really
stepping out on approximately 57 cents plus the church
contribution. Funny how those little green pieces of paper dictate
your social life. Anyway, The Love Boat has to be in the top 10 of
all- time most lame shows ever. Yes, there were new celebrities each
week, which more often than not, were just washed-up performers who couldn’t
get another gig. Ah, The Love Boat – a place where all of the world’s
problems were solved in 48 minutes. Not only that, but the
problems were solved in really cheesy ways with real cheesy characters who had
really cheesy lines. Why didn’t we just go for a walk instead…oh that’s
right, it wasn’t a very safe place to walk at night. The good thing about
this time in our life was that I sat next to the most beautiful girl in the world pretty much every Saturday night back then and
still get do today. Except now we are asleep by 9:30 on a good night and
can afford our own bowl of soup. I am just glad that we’re still not
doing our penance assignment of The Love Boat.
You won’t be
to solve all of the problems in the world in a 40 minute segment. You’ll have to keep at it
to make a difference. Don’t fall into the “microwave society”
mindset of instant solution. Nope, you’re gonna have to work for it.
Our highest stakes test is ISTEP, which doesn’t take place until March and then
again in early May. If you want your kids to be ready, you have to start
building the foundation now. You will have to use your time
wisely. You will have to make the most of every opportunity. You
will have to use RtI period wisely. You will have to use formative
assessments how they are supposed to be used. You will have to provide
feedback in a meaningful way to kids. You will have to form great
relationships with your students and colleagues. You will have to
use best practices in your classroom. You will have to make a
difference. With all due respect to Gopher, Capt. Stubing,
Doc, Issac, and Julie, you can’t just get buy a ticket on The Love Boat and
watch it all float away. You will have to get after it on a daily
basis. You can see some great results if you start now.
Don’t wait for Saturday night. Besides, it’s all reruns.
---------------------------
No NFL games this
weekend. On the 9th, the Browns
host Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles on the shores of Lake Erie. We plan to play
“dog” coverage on defense. Yep, that was a cheap shot, but I took it.
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