Grace

Mrs. Willis accuses my blog of sounding like excerpts from a sermon from time to time. It's a fair analysis. As a preacher's kid I'd like to think that the backyard sermons I received from my dad somehow moulded my thought process. If the gray area between religion and school offends you, or simply isn't your cup of tea, you should probably stop reading this one.

This time of the year we struggle with how much to give of ourselves as people and professionals to help students succeed or just pass. Missed assignments, poor attendance and a myriad of reasons and excuses lead us to do more because others did less. On the one hand, we can set expectations and draw a line in the sand. You miss too many days: you fail. You miss the deadline for an assignment: sorry; do better next time. On the other hand, we give and give in hopes that the student will learn and will one day recognize the effort that went into helping them succeed.  Perhaps the learning and personal growth we hoped for will be achieved and it will all be worth it. These are the two ends of the spectrum and most of us fall somewhere in the middle, but lean to one side or the other. To be honest, this argument can even create conflict between our personal beliefs and our professional goals. Hold on this thought for a moment.

Most educators believe in a higher authority. You almost have to to stay in this job! I think that it comes down to faith. We have faith in one another, faith in our students and faith in the system that we work within. It all revolves in a belief that we are here to help one another and that we will all do our best. Faith is an easy concept. Just believe that it will be better. But if you believe in a higher authority, you also believe in grace, and that is much harder to practice. We all need grace. We all make mistakes and hope that we can be forgiven. Grace, on the other hand, is much harder to practice. We want it for ourselves, but find it difficult to give to others. Grace can be enabling or rewarding, and you just never know which way it will go.

So back to our troubled students. Where does our desire for personal grace intersect with our ability to give help and second chances to others? That's a tough thing to determine. It comes down to a personal belief and a reflective brain. When you decided to become a teacher, was it because of an inspiring teacher that gave you second chances to be better or because of a teacher that never budged? The answer will be different for many of us, but my advice is that all of us should be the teacher that we needed when we were younger and the person that we need now.  We all fall short and we all could learn a lesson or two, and in the end, most things work out for one reason or another. My dad would call that reason grace.

Think hard about grace and how best to administer it over these final weeks of the school year. Our reactions to student needs stem from our beliefs and do not necessarily reflect our own needs. Find your line and help students accordingly. If you need help finding your way through that gray area, I can try to help. I think that's my job. Be reflective instead of reactive and do your best to determine how grace should be administered in learning, as in all other aspects of our lives.

Salute Your Assistant Principals

This week is National Assistant Principal’s Week. For the life of me I can’t remember that being something that was recognized when I was an assistant principal. That’s probably because assistant principals are often too busy to realize that something like that exists. The job of an assistant principal is often very thankless. You work diligently to manage the day, the students and the problems that pop up, only for someone else to get the credit most of the time. And if you’re doing your job right, that’s how you want it. Our assistant principals are some real characters and they bring so much to our school with their personalities.

Mr. Castillo is one of the most passionate educators I know.  He takes student needs and goals personally and gives so much of himself to help make things happen for students that would otherwise get little or no attention. I am envious of his ability to generate relationships with families in two languages and every time I see him do it, I kick myself for not remembering more Spanish. If he is not driving a bus or opening his home to leadership meetings, he is keeping us all on our toes with the next prank he has concocted. He pushes me to push our staff to do more and for that I greatly appreciate him.

Mrs. Willis tells you like it is. She is the voice of reason and guidance for so many of our young ladies. Her broad life experiences have created an educator that is very wise beyond her years. She is my sounding board for new ideas and she is the person that checks on me to make sure that I take care of myself. Her experience growing up in a home much like so many of our students, to become an author and educator encapsulates the true definition of grit.

Mr. Simms is simply who everyone should want to be when they grow up. Every time I have a stressful day, I always remind myself that Dexter Simms has done this job much longer than I have and he is still one of the happiest people I have ever known.  He always has a smile on his face and a kind word for anyone. His positivity is infectious and his wisdom has helped me countless times.

So while we wrap up National Assistant Principal’s Week, please join me in saying thank you to the people that never really expect to get credit for so many of the things that they do each day. Without their work, our school might be a very different place to work. (And your doorknobs also might not have lotion all over them!)

Taking Time to be Important

I have a thing for watches. I probably own about 10, but I have 5 that I wear regularly. I just like the way that they look and feel. I can vividly remember my dad purchasing me my first watch. It was a black Timex and I got it because I couldn't remember what time to come home from a friend's house. He brought it to me the next day and told me that I would never get to use that excuse again. Since then I have owned dozens of watches. As a runner I had watches that had lap timers and all kinds of functions. As I got older I wanted watches that I felt showed somewhat of a status symbol. Having one on my wrist makes me feel ready for the day and important.

Take a look around any school and you will see that kids do not wear watches anymore. They have a cell phone that gives them the time and a watch is just a single-purpose device. I think that kids today miss out on some of those things that make you feel like an adult and feel important. That's why I purchased three watches and gave them to three young men this week. About a month ago I started my own homeroom, comprised of three 9th grade boys. All three were failing all of their courses. In our first homeroom we talked about why they were not being successful. Taking time to do their work and to study was a common theme. They also mentioned a lack of motivation and an overwhelming fear of being wrong. Since then, we have been working on making up classwork, completing assignments and being in their classes on time each day. Their grades have significantly improved and I am proud of what we have started. These young men come in each Monday and we talk for a few minutes and then they help each other on anything that they need for class. (They have several classes together.)

When I gave them their watches on Monday, I told them about my first watch and why I still wear one. I want them to feel important and I wanted it to be a symbol to take time to do the right thing. I never expected that I would have to teach them how to set a watch or even how to tell time on an analog clock face, but we did a crash course on that as well. These watches were a small investment in the lives of three young men, and to be honest I wasn't even sure that they would wear them. I was hoping that the feeling was universal. Their faces said it all as they put them on and I have seen them wearing their watch every day this week.

While I do
n't suggest that we go out a purchase watches for every student, I do suggest finding how to make students feel a sense of importance about their purpose and their goals. Learning has so much to do with how a learner feels about what they do and so little about their given talents toward the subject. The right mindset can truly overcome anything.