Educators feel constrained by the rules and regulations that cover almost everything in public education. We have always had DPI rules and state policy mandates, but now we also have fewer resources, higher class sizes, mandatory testing, bell schedules, morning duties, and more diverse student bodies. When teaching seems overwhelming, the virtue of imagination can lead to solutions and successes.

At a high school I worked at the math teachers didn’t have time to work one-on-one with my ESL students. They said, “How can I teach Algebra to ‘Jose,’ if his English is weak and I speak no Spanish?”

As the ESL teacher, I set out to find a solution. I emailed the math and Spanish departments at our local university. Their response was to send Spanish-speaking math majors, and math-speaking Spanish majors, to work with our ESL Algebra students.  The math teachers hadn’t thought to ask.

Testing is now a focus in many schools. All the world stops for TESTING. As coordinator of our school’s ACCESS tests, I needed proctors.  I decided not to ask my colleagues to give up their planning periods. Instead, I contacted a nearby retirement community and ended up with more volunteers than I needed. Somebody just had to ask.

To paraphrase Bishop Micheal Curry, in a world where we ask too often “why?” you have to have the imagination to ask “why not?”

Rohanen Middle School, Rockingham, NC

Generosity and humility have taken Rohanen Middle School by storm. We have improved school climate and teacher attitudes by making “Staff Member of the Month” awards. This new tradition has had a profound effect on the whole school.

It all started in a School Improvement Team meeting. We decided to do something to show appreciation for teachers who are going above and beyond the call of duty.

The monthly award goes to the staff members we want to recognize for their hard work and generosity. Receiving this award one time was a humbling experience – knowing that others saw my efforts and wanted to show their appreciation.

Since we started this tradition, my coworkers and I are more humble as we see the good that many staff are doing. And we are more generous as we recognize the efforts that improve the school for everybody.

We all aspire to have courage, and many people think they have it. If asked, many would say,  “Yeah — I have courage, who doesn’t?” But many people do not possess courage, and they don’t realize it until they are faced with a challenge.

This year a teacher in my school was on the verge of an action plan, due to personal circumstances that occurred last year. Before then, she was an excellent teacher.

I asked my principal to let me work with this teacher. I wanted to see if she could overcome the difficulties of the past and return to the virtuous teacher she had been. This teacher showed courage by admitting she needed help. We worked side by side, day after day, and now she is back.

Admitting something is wrong and accepting help takes courage and humility. The teacher is benefiting from the virtues she demonstrated and her students are benefiting, too. After all, that is why we teach — to benefit the students.

As a teacher you want to help your students develop the characteristics that enable them to grow into citizens who are willing to look out for others as they travel through life’s journey. My classes always begin with an invitation to discuss “What’s new in your world?” Topics range from the presidential elections to atomic weapons in North Korea to the latest performances on the lacrosse field. As the year progresses, students become more and more comfortable discussing anything with me “behind the closed classroom door.” Our chats have become a safety valve, a way to build community and a way to explore subjects that sometimes are a bit uncomfortable. But they have also become something more. They have also opened conversations that allow students to determine appropriate actions they could take to handle situations in their own lives.

Pre-teen boys seem to be totally self-absorbed. This is especially true for one of my classes where almost every male is a high achiever — both in academics and athletics. I was especially surprised one day to have a particularly gregarious young man ask how to tell a classmate, “They stink.” Needless to say, the classroom dissolved into the expected fits of middle school giggles with each student eager to describe the offending person and the issue. We chatted a minute about what might be possible including the potential that this could be a problem over which the young person had no control. Students became thoughtful and appeared to understand.

The following week I sensed that our discussion of how to approach issues while maintaining an attitude of understanding and caring had made a mark. During “sharing” time, the subject of the “stinky” student arose, but this time the students had some ideas. They said they did not want to do anything that would overtly call attention to the student, but they did want to help. We talked about imaginative ways to address the issue, and they came up with the following idea.

They want to do a service-learning project that involves preparing eighth graders for high school. One of the sessions will be on hygiene, and it will be conducted by two of our former students. The plan is to hold this particular discussion on the day we get out for Easter break. The class decided to provide Easter baskets for ALL 8th grade students. Not only will the basket include Easter candy, but one of our local industries, Revlon, will donate deodorant and talcum powder. One of our parents, who owns a chain of drug stores, will donate toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouth wash. Baskets will also include breath mints and chewing gum.

The students are excited about this project, not only because it has been fun for them, but also because they have taken an imaginative action to help solve a problem in a way that does not offend anybody. I am excited too. This is not an Algebra topic, but it is a life lesson, which I hope I also model. The conversations, the thinking, the actions have all helped bring these students closer. It also helped them look inside themselves for ways to address sticky issues. They impress me with their understanding of several virtues.

This morning’s newspaper has an advertisement that shows bored business people in a conference room. The man on the left is looking down; the man in the center has his head on the table; and the woman on the right looks disgusted.

Beneath the picture the text makes this “pitch” for a technology company:

Don’t let an outdated conference room limit the impact your organization can have on all of its audiences.

Cut the Crap

Nobody in a boring meeting says, “This meeting needs modern technology to have a greater impact on me and our audiences.” But that is the “pitch” being made when educators argue that disinterested students become interested, when teachers use smart boards instead of chalkboards, when students read ipads instead of books, or when computer-based simulations replace role plays. It is not true that students become interested for these reasons, but educators believe it anyway.

Just like business people who want a shared purpose for their meeting, students want a shared purpose for their learning. Purpose makes learning relevant and important, not the tools that are used.

When educators say schools need modern technology to generate student interest, they really mean students who are interested in the purpose of a lesson benefit from using modern technology. Those who are not interested won’t care what tools are used — just like the people in the newspaper advertisement.

If modern technology improves the learning of those who are interested in learning, what educational problems does modern technology solve?

Every year our school conducts a “Toys for Tots” campaign. Around Christmas time teachers, students, and staff donate new or used toys for children who are less fortunate in our community. After all toys are collected, students deliver them to churches, homes, and shelters to be distributed to the children in the community. This teaches students a valuable lesson in generosity.

The children who receive the toys are touched by the generosity shown by our students. The participating teachers, students also benefit, realizing the positive effects of their generosity.

Test.

When considering how the six virtues have affected my school, I am led to the story of one of our students from a few years back. This young man was full of life. He always had a smile on his face — just a great kid to be around.

He loved athletics and was a member of our football and lacrosse teams. He was not the most talented player, but he loved being around classmates and coaches.

During his junior year the young man had a severe seizure and became extremely sick. He was in and out of the hospital, but the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. He eventually fell gravely ill and died. During the entire time he and his family never lost their love for our school and community. They were the epitome of dedication.

The bill for their son’s treatments was huge. It was at this time that generosity went in motion. Our school and community set up countless drives and donation centers to raise money for the family. Our students sold wrist bands at ball games, had charity walks, cupcake sales, and so forth.

I am not sure if the family was able to pay the whole debt, but I am sure the efforts of our students helped. That is what generosity is all about. The community rallied around a family that needed help. Generosity is a key virtue.

In today’s school climate of fear and mistrust, it is difficult to teach students about marketing and promotion. Decision makers are wary of allowing students too much leeway in activities. This story, however, is about my principal showing the courage and imagination that enabled my students to engage in meaningful activities.

I was frustrated with just showing my students examples of college webpages promoting their sports teams and programs.  I wanted their learning to go beyond collegiate advertising and branding on the internet.

Therefore, I asked my principal for permission to have our Sports and Entertainment II students take over web page design for our school’s athletic teams.  After some consideration she agreed to take the risk.

Since taking over, the students look forward to their weekly update sessions, when they apply their understanding of successful web page design and imagine new ways to promote the teams. The principal’s willingness to trust the students and treat them as budding “professionals” allowed them to show their true abilities and maturity.

Here is a 3-question quiz.

1.    If a person with high test scores spills coffee in a public restroom, will he/she clean it up?

a. Yes      b.  No      c.  Not enough information.

2.   If a person with college degrees spills coffee in a public restroom, will he/she clean it up?

a. Yes      b.  No      c.  It depends on what was learned in school.

3.   If an “educated” person spills coffee in a public restroom, will he/she clean it up?

a.   Yes      b.  No     c. It depends on how you define “educated.”

“C” is the correct answer for all three. Let’s review why:

We can’t know if a person with high test scores would clean the spill. Those who reason that custodians are hired to clean restrooms, might not clean it. Some high scorers, however, would clean the spill. The relevant information is missing because high test scores are unrelated to making life better for those who follow us.

“C” is also correct for #2. Colleges teach knowledge and skills. College graduates might also reason that custodians are hired to clean public restrooms. Other graduates would clean the spill. It depends on what the “spiller” learned in school about making life better for those who follow.

“C” is also correct for #3. Whether an “educated” person cleans up the spill depends on how we define “educated.”

How do we define “educated?” Is it the ability to correctly answer multiple choice questions? Is it being a college graduate? If we define it either way, an “educated” person does not necessarily make life better for those who follow.

Are such people really educated, or are they just “schooled?” Do you want to spend time with “high standardized test scorers,” or “college degree earners,” if they don’t make life better for those who follow them?

All societies educate their youth because our educated human nature is driven to make life better for those who come after us. That is both the reason for becoming educated and the definition of “educated.” Sociopaths and psychopaths aren’t those who reject being schooled; they reject being “educated.”

Curmudgeon:

To write something worth reading, you also need to “know deeply.” Have you given enough time and effort to “knowing deeply?”