You Don't Get It Both Ways

There have been so many things that I started to write about for my blog this week. I've started several in my head and decided to hold off for one reason or another. I believe that waiting to say things at the right time and place can dramatically change the impact of the message. Right now everyone is tired and ready to start summer break. Students are eager to be done and I know that the adults in our building are as well. For that reason, I decided that some of what I wanted to say would come across as "preachy" at a tough time to digest it. But I'm wrong on that.

This week, I started by visiting our Math 1 classes to reiterate the importance of their upcoming exam. For these students, it is the last regular EOC they will take in math and it carries 50% of the school's growth scores and 33% of our proficiency scores. At the end of the year, 9th graders traditionally revert back to some more middle school behaviors and need a little reminding about how important finishing strong is for their grade. After my talks, a few didn't take me seriously within the next day, and I had to make a strong example of their actions. There is no place for apathy or redirection of immature behaviors right now. We have important work to do.

And that's when it hit me that I was wrong. I had decided to hold back on a "preachy" message to the adults in the school, but I had no problem sending that message to the students. That doesn't work. I cannot expect students to be on time if their teacher is often late. I cannot expect a student to remain in their class if their teacher slips out early at the end of the day. I cannot expect students to complete all of their work on time if their teacher doesn't adhere to deadlines. Most importantly, I cannot expect students to take their final exams seriously if their teachers have checked out for the school year.

So here I am, being preachy. Not because I think that all of you need it, but because I think that all of US need it. I'm in that boat with you and your students. There is a lot of important work to be done next week and we ALL have to be mentally in place to do that work. Like most things in life, it's not how you start, but how you finish that matters most. Make an impression with your students that next week is some of the most important work that we do all year. The end is close, but we can't quit now.