Sometimes They Don't Need What's in Your Lesson Plan
On Tuesday, May 24th, I traveled three hours north to a small school just past the Twin Cities. I went to visit a friend who, over the years, I've found to not only be a wonderful person but a true teacher-pirate in Ms. Horst. Kim and I first met via Twitter (#edchat) and over the past four years have developed a unique friendship. You see, we both see that education needs to transform in order to better meet the needs of today's learner. This idea has not made us very popular with some of our colleagues. I'm not implying that we are right and everyone else is wrong. I'm simply saying that education, as many of you know it, goes far beyond the Core and state test scores. So on this day, I went and listened to 11 3rd graders give their TedTalk on, "The Change Begins with Me in Grade Three".
As each student went to the mic to tell of their change (i.e. being positive, inviting others to play, being a peace-keeper etc.) it seemed as though each student was drawing from past or current life experiences. Some were light and funny while others came from a more hurtful place. After the talks, I asked Kim about some of her students and what I learned really wasn't all that surprising. You see, for those of us who have been in this game long enough, you begin to connect patterns of behavior in the classroom with what the child is likely experiencing outside the school walls. Not every story is rooted in the Leave it to Beaver (That ages me right?) story line. Some stories more closely follow one of the characters from The Outsiders.
During my visit I met a young lady who immediately took to me. As my next few hours unfolded in the classroom, if she wasn't sitting with Kim, she was standing next to me. At breaks she would either come over to hold my hand, make small talk and even asked me to dance during a break. And of course I did! Then, as we headed off to lunch, this young lady invited me to eat with them. Needless to say, I was beginning to put a few pieces of the puzzle together.
When the end of the day arrived, I was saying my good-byes and taking pictures. As I went to the door, my little shadow ran up to me and gave me a HUGE hug without saying a word. It was a great hug. It was a hug that had me speechless. IT was hug I would later learn had meaning. As Kim walked me to the office doors, she told me a little more about my new
friend. It was at that moment I realized that my trip to see Kim and learn about TedTalks in schools, turned into an opportunity for one young lady to BE that change and she shared it with me. I felt blessed.
"We exist because of kids; not in spite of them". This is something I've long held in my heart as an educator. Yesterday, it took a 3rd grader to remind me that often times what teachers have in their lesson plans is NOT what every child needs.
