Lessons Learned
Why?
Why
did my mom have to die? Why do I have cystic fibrosis? Why is my brother in a
wheel chair? Why does my family always yell? Why do we have to move again? Why
do they always pick on me? Why is my dad never home? Why is school so hard? So
easy? So boring? Why should I care? Why? Tell me why. These and infinite others
like them are the unanswerable questions that fill the hearts and minds of
students on a daily basis. Sometimes students are able to gather their
swirling, troubling thoughts and articulate the unanswerable questions, but
usually they cannot or perhaps will not which leaves the young burdened heart
and mind simply full of hurt. A mind and heart so full has little room for new
learning material, because preoccupation with managing those things that hurt
is indeed consuming. Life is hard. Lives
are very complicated. At the same time teachers are consumed with the
ever-looming, pressure-driven questions such as: How will these students pass
these tests? How can we possibly improve our scores? What happens if we don’t? How
can I individualize instruction, cover all standards, show continuous
improvement in scores, encourage each student to strive towards higher order
thinking and questioning, follow each
IEP plan, aspire towards teaching and learning through multiple intelligences,
and still allow time for discovery, curiosity, creativity, and collaboration?
How is what is being asked of me even humanly possible? Inwardly all of us,
teachers and students alike, are slowly, desperately drowning in this sea of
unanswerable questions, because we are silently and overwhelmingly weighed down
and stressed. Despite this, we all learn to maintain our “press onward” veneer
and go through the motions of daily accomplishment. It’s a pressure-cooker. A
time-bomb. An extremely tragic elephant
in the living room. Metrics are being
generated and collected and assessed and pronounced upon, yet no meaning has
been made with respect to student learning. We have accepted this unfortunate but very measureable learning façade
while completely neglecting truth, connection, depth, substance, authenticity,
relational support, honesty, and a realness through which genuine, life-changing,
meaningful and exciting learning can
occur, hearts can be tended to, and compassion can reach in to share the hurt, even if answers cannot be
found. What we have created in an effort
to best serve our students is a number monster that feasts on the time needed
to reach, teach, and inspire our students.
How can we not recognize this? What will it take to correct our error
which continues to ripple out in ever widening circles of despair?
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