Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine influenced the American Revolution greatly with the publication of his Common Sense pamphlet in 1776.  This was his call to arms for Colonial America.  He challenged the authority of the British monarchy and openly urged independence from Great Britain.  The rest is, pun intended, history.  He argued that America had lost touch with the land across the pond and that independence was eminent.  It was “common sense” to separate.  Common Sense sold approximately 500,000 copies, which was a remarkable number considering the population of the entire “country” was 2.5 million.  Paine wrote that we must earn our liberty to truly appreciate it.  We sow what we reap.  No one should be handed anything – you have to earn it.  People must raise themselves up to liberty.  Liberty is to be earned.  “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”

As we prepare for the first round of ISTEP next week, no one could ever accuse us of taking this too lightly.  All of the preparation that was provided, the remediation, the enrichment, the lesson planning, the adjustments in instruction, the collaboration, the professional development, the professional practice,  the Marzano elements…none of those came cheaply.  Short story – we have worked hard to assure that these test scores are where we want them to be.  The videos, the announcements, the breakfasts, the t-shirts…yep, not cheap, but well though-out strategies that we call “carrots”.  So, when these scores do come out, we will value them because we worked really hard for them.  It is so much harder to give up something that you have worked so hard for.  That’s why it will be special.  It’s common sense.  We aren’t obtaining anything cheaply; thus, we won’t esteem the results lightly.

Rocky Mountain High

John Denver wrote Rocky Mountain High long before Colorado began selling marijuana legally.  There is a conspiracy theory that Denver’s “secret message” in the song was that smoking pot would take you to “places” you have never been before.  Of course, the ones contributing to that theory were enveloped in a cloud of cannabis smoke. John Denver wrote this song after seeing the beauty of life in the Rocky Mountains.  He saw this distinctly in the form of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.  He was mesmerized by the shadows of the starlight and the meteor showers and the sight of “raining fire” in the sky.  It opened his eyes to something he didn’t know existed.  Denver was 27 years old at this time and he had just moved to Colorado.  Below is the first verse to the song. 

“He was born in the summer of his 27^th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before.

He left yesterday behind him, you might say that he was born again,

You might say he found a key for every door.”

I wonder just how many eyes we can open to something that they have never been able to do before.  I have interviewed hundreds of prospective teachers over the years and have asked them what the best part of teaching is.  The vast majority say something like this, “I love when kids get it; when the light bulb goes off.  That’s the best part.”  Is that the best part for you?  If it is, would you like to have more of those moments?  If so, realize that you must create those  “light bulb” moments.  Kids may come into their own, academically speaking, when WE CREATE the opportunity to do so.  We can take them, academically speaking, to places they have never been before.  We can get that “Rocky Mountain High” by challenging them at higher levels of understanding.  We can move them from stagnation and leave yesterday behind them by understanding where they are academically and moving them to higher levels.  We can provide awakening for them by showing them concepts that they have never seen and teach it in ways they have never been taught.  Innovating anyone?  We can show them that they “key” to opening up academic doors starts with an inspiring teacher who is excited about what they are presenting, engaging his or her students throughout lessons, and causing them to think beyond what they have already thought about.  Just like the light show that John Denver saw that night in 1972, we can turn on those “lightbulbs” that we desperately must seek.

Don't Clog the Well!

Over the past 3500 years, there have only been approximately 300 years where the world was free from war.  Think about that for a moment.  That means that there has been war for over 90% of the past 35 centuries!  How about you?  Has there been even one year where there was peace in the world during your lifetime?  Pretty sad.  Military tactics have evolved over that 3500 year span.  Modern wars are fought with much technology and whoever has the most sophisticated technology usually “wins”.  In WWI, the trench became an important part of military strategy.  Our Civil War was fought by two sides facing each other at relatively close range and the winner was whoever could reload their weapon the fastest.  I think the British blew it during our Revolution due to their insistence of wearing bright red coats.  I guess the world “camouflage”” wasn’t invented yet.  In Old Testament times, one creative military strategy did not involve weapons at all. Yes, David was slinging stones at Goliath and hand to hand combat was the standard, but if you really wanted to defeat your enemy the objective was this:  stop up the wells of your enemy by loading the well with stones.  This would cut off the water supply and people cannot survive without water.  Once the enemy became parched, they gave up.  Those that refused to give up died of thirst.

Kids carry all kinds of stones with them.  These are stones that they shouldn’t have to carry, but they do.  You may not know about these stones, but believe me, they exist.  These stones block the flow of student learning and relationship building.  Kids in this school or any other school for that matter, carry these stones that weigh them down..  These may be stones of abuse , hurt, rejection, depression, or hopelessness.  Stones may be carried that are representative of poverty, hunger, neglect or a lack of love.  Some of these kids are easy to spot.  Some hide it quite well.  What are these kids looking for?  First and foremost, they are not looking for someone to add to their burdens!  They already have enough on their plates and are often ill-equipped to handle it.  You may not be able to remove all of the stones, but you can do SOMETHING.  Prevent abuse by accepting their answers in a class discussion and watch for any signs of bullying in the hallways.  Be the one that picks them up with a compliment or a smile.  Give them hope and build their confidence.  Be perhaps the only adult that wants to build a good relationship with them.  Show them how caring adults are supposed to act.  Alert the office if these kids need help with lunch money or clothing – there are things that we can do.  These kids are not our enemy and we should never desire to clog up their wells.  Some of them have only a trickle.  Let’s be part of the plan to open up the springs. 

Dear Abby

Abigail Van Buren was the pen name of Pauline Phillips who founded an advice column in 1956. She provided answers to people’s problems until the year 2000 in newspapers throughout the country.  The Dear Abby column was known for brief, yet sincere and kind advice.  She cared about the problems of people. People wrote to her because of this reputation and they wanted a “third party” to make decisions for them in their private and social lives.  Her responses were reasoned, yet terse.  Her columns became a “must read” for a multitude of readers.  Abigail Van Buren/Pauline Phillips passed away in 2013 due to complications from Alzheimer’s Disease.  She had many of her words quoted.  One quote that made me think is “There are two kinds of people in the world – those who walk into a room and say, ‘Here I am’ and those who say, ‘There you are.” That speaks volumes of how much people think of themselves and others.  Reminds me of this – “Have I not wept for those in trouble?” (Job 30:25)  She demonstrated that the mindset of valuing others more than yourself is an essential tenet. 

This is something that I was told 37 years ago – get used to being third. The kids come first.  The school/team comes second.  The teachers come third.  I consider myself to be number 88.  Why is this?  None of what we do is solely about us.  Sure, there is a paycheck and renumeration and a benefits package.  Those are the compensation for what we do, but really isn’t the result.  It is about making a difference in the lives of others.  AND there are lots of “others” around you each day!  Some of the “others” you will not like.  Some of the others have bad breath and dress pretty sloppy.  Some of the others are gangly and are growing into theirselves.  Some are socially inept.  Some are snotty. Some are gregarious. Some are awesome. Some “deserve” your time.  Some you will want to take home.  Some you will want to stay home. “They” are part of “us”.  Everyone outside of you is an “other”.  Is it “Here I am “ or “There you are”?  What would Dear Abby say?