So, you may not be surprised that this has been another dreadful week. yes, I say ANOTHER because so far 2010 sucks--and I apologize for not having a better way to say that. But it is what it is.
However, that is not the direction I will go tonight because I am instead thinking of two things that happened this week that have me all teary and sentimental about being a teacher. First, I had a lunch date with a former primate of mine from many years ago. He's been struggling and I've known about it for awhile. But it is impossible to remain deeply involved in every former student's life, so I heard the stories from other staff and felt bad. Last week I decided to take action and spoke with his current teacher. A different colleague suggested I have lunch with him, so I invited him for this past Monday. Nothing earth-shattering, no "Mr. Holland's Opus" moment, and I have little hope that re-connecting with me will have much impact on this primate's daily struggles....but that speck of hope resulted in a really pleasant, sweet, and memorable lunch. I felt that sappy, sugary, some may say naiive, sense of making a difference in another person's life that you see in those goofy teacher movies--only it was real, and I was the sappy star of the movie feeling like the pebble I'd just thrown had made a ripple. Sharing lunch with this young man who only a short time ago was clutched to my leg because someone stole his blue crayon, made me smile--a true, genuine, deep smile. The rest of the day continued with the dark cloud of doom hovering over my head, but that lunch made a real difference for me, and I think it was nice for the primate as well. We made a pact to meet once a month for lunch, just to connect, and I look forward to getting to know him all over again as a young man. Maybe it will make a difference for him too.
SO my other sappy moment this week was Tuesday, 3pm-ish. Another former primate who now attends a different school has been visiting me 2-3 times a week on her way home. She is a special case (really, they all are-and I'm not just saying that--it's something I think only a true teacher can understand...the ways each child who passes through your life adds a little, takes a little, and leaves you with an altered perspective on humanity because they've taught you something new---and they all really do that, it's just not often we have the time to sit and reflect and really appreciate it) anyways, this primate has allowed me to take the moment, reflect, and feel good about her desire to stay connected to me. She's been borrowing books from me--returning them all!!! And I'm proud of the fact that she is seeking out books we read last year. I made an impact! I made an impact! Our educational journey together resonates with her and she is compelled to revisit these experiences a year later.
So while I have the pleasure of constantly living in a work world where we are mandated to go against everything we believe about teaching and learning (i.e., the data collection frenzy that has a choke hold on American public education), I submit the above two stories as evidence that I'm doing a good job--and test scores have NOTHING to do with it!
**Please note this post is dedicated to all the policy makers out there committed to reducing teaching and learning to psychometrics.
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