When I post, my ideas often come because of things I read and relate to what we do. They may be related to events occurring in the world. They may be related to our theme for the year. Other times, they are just random thoughts that I put down. I have a couple of wandering thoughts and hope to string them together. Last year, our theme was superheroes. I love superhero movies. Whether it is the world of DC or Marvel, there is a great escape you can experience by watching superhero movies. Today, the great Stan Lee passed away. Stan Lee was KING of the superhero world. He created some of the best: Thor, Spider Man, the Hulk, Iron Man. His creativity made these heroes household names. When he began with Marvel in the 50's, he could have probably never imagine the empire Marvel is today...that his characters would be portrayed in blockbuster movies...in toys...and in some principal's silly blog. He wanted to create characters who were like us by being vulnerable and likable. Characters that had flaws, but characters that had really good traits too. I am sure Stan Lee created comics that bombed. I am sure some times his boss did not like a character he created. I am sure once movies were involved there were times a character he created wasn't portrayed in a way he like. I am sure he felt pressure to perform...pressure to get it right...pressure to create the next really good thing. I am sure there were times when Stan Lee was under pressure after celebrating the success of something big. Maybe after the success of the Fantastic Four, something went wrong. Maybe that next character didn't get completed in time. Maybe he had a line of people outside his door demanding the next great thing and there was no great thing at that time. Maybe he was expecting his co-creators to come through with something, only to have it not happen. Maybe he had said it was going to be done at noon and the production wasn't completed thus making his fans wait. Some of those thing were beyond his control. There was no one single thing he could do to speed up production or make that next great idea just pop in his head. I am sure these types of situations could make Stan forget about the success of his completed projects. It could make him irritable. It could make him want to throw his hands up and in the air and declare he was done. This happens to all of us. We can have just experienced a really great event, (perhaps it is something personal...something in our classroom)something that we are really proud of, only to have that joy be crushed two minutes later. Then instead of remembering that really great thing, we remember that crushing thing. We often have to step aside in order to bring ourselves back to those really great things. I am sure Stan Lee experienced that. There is no way that every super hero he created was successful or even made it to production. He was probably told he had bad ideas. I am sure he had impatient editors. He probably got caught up in the moment of these little things and forgot all about the great things that happened prior...we all do. But by pulling himself together, I am sure he was able to create some characters even better than the Fantastic Four...like the X-Men. Remember all of this. Remember that when you are surround by pressure, don't forget that beauty you have seen prior. When you are experiencing something that is unexpected, may cause you a little discomfort, or may have you to re-plan, know that stuff happens. You can be angry about it or you can be flexible. You can pause, think about the great things that have happened, and work to keep creating more great things for the team around you. Thank you Stan Lee for the characters you created that allow us to see good in the world. People who work to create good things for their teams, like the Avengers. People who look past the "stuff" to help create a better world.
The week of November 12th is American Education Week. In 1919, the NEA and the American Legion got together to think of a way to build public support for education. We had just come off World War I and it was found that over 25% of the draftees who fought in the war were illiterate. These organizations viewed this a need for our nation to bring an awareness to the importance of education. In 1921 at the NEA Convention in Iowa, it was recommended to designate one week a year to educate the public on what was occurring within our public schools. The first American Education Week was held in December of that year with the Legion and the NEA co-sponsoring the week. The following year, the US Department of Education joined as a co-sponsor and the PTA joined in 1938. There are currently over 10 more additional agencies which pledge their support to this week. The theme for this year is "Reach. Educate. Inspire". Three little words. Three amazing things. Three things that can be difficult to do. Three tasks that can be overwhelming. Reach We are called to reach students of various backgrounds. Our students vary in race, sex, socio-economic status, IQ, emotional well being, family backgrounds...this list goes on. How do we reach students who vary so differently...not just from each other but also from us? It is hard to tell a student "I understand" when so very often we don't. We can't imagine what it is like for some of our students. Despite all of this...we do end up reaching students. We make relationships. We show we care. Educate (Please see the paragraph above as all of that applies here too!) You mean we have to do this on top of that? THIS is what our job is: to educate. But we know that it is SO much more than that. We have to build relationships, help students find their voice, ensure they feel safe, know what they like...we have to do so many things before we can even begin to do what is considered our job. We are so much more than educators. For some students, we may feel like family. Perhaps that is why we are exhausted. We are doing so much more than just educating our students. Inspire Which of the three is the hardest? If you do the first two, does this one just follow? What is the recipe for this one? As I have typed and retyped my thoughts on this one, I am thinking you have to have a big dose of reach in there to inspire students. But then I think about when I was in school, it seemed teachers has a secret life we knew nothing about. I think about all the things we know about our students and what they know about us. When things are tough for us, our students know. When things are tough for our students, we know. I don't remember that as a student. Was I less inspired by my teachers? I don't know. What do you think it takes to inspire? Is it something that happens when you have all the right pieces in place or is something entirely different? Is there another profession where we ask so much of people? Maybe not. We get the great gift of working with the future of our country. We need to make sure we are reaching our students...that we are educating them...and that we are inspiring them to be the best they can be. And remember to do the same for yourself...reach your goals...educate yourself...and inspire yourself to be the best you can be.
