Principal ponderings...
When the video below came across my social media feed, I was listened to the commencement speech over and over. Talk about inspirational. A non verbal young lady with autism using her voice, a text to speech resource, to give the commencement speech at her college graduation. It made me think of Melody, the character in the book Out of My Mind. She was trapped in her body, not able to communicate at first, but then she found her voice, a way to communicate and was able to compete in the school trivia bowl. It also made me think of many of the students I worked with in my early years as an educator. I taught several non-verbal children with autism or traumatic brain injuries. I used to imagine who those amazing kids would grow into. Would they find their voice? Would they make their mark on the world. As a young, naive, hopelessly optimistic beginning teacher...I believed in them and believed that they were more than their disability.
In her speech, she encourages everyone to see the worth in everyone you serve. As Mr. Rogers shared, she also encourages everyone to "live a life of service." As educators, that is exactly what we do. We are living out our life of service. Even though this has proven to be an extremely hard year in education, we are all still showing up everyday to serve the little humans in front of us. We must see the worth in each and every one of our students. Some days that is easy to do. On other days, that is a challenge. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves or remind each other to "be the light," to see the worth in each student.
My first year in education, at the end of the year, I wrote a letter to the parents of each of my students. I was the para who became the long term substitute teacher in a language-based classroom. I had nine students ranging from severe ADHD (think eating through pencils and chairs severe) to traumatic brain injuries to autism and seizure disorder. In the letters, I talked to the parents about all the amazing qualities that I saw in their child. And I painted a picture of what I imagined they would be when they grew up. The little girl who was mostly non verbal unless music was involved, I imagined that some day we would see her performing on stage with a piano. The boy who had a traumatic brain injury as a result of an injury at birth, I imagined him as a scientist discovering new medicines and also keeping everyone laughing with his jokes that you sometimes had to wait a while for the punchline. I remember the parents were grateful that I saw the worth in each of their children. I saw beyond their disability. I saw their strengths. And most importantly, I saw the their potential future success.
This is the time of year in a normal year when we begin to run out of steam. We might lose our patience with our students and with each other. We are beyond exhausted. And our students, no matter their abilities or disabilities, are gearing up for summer which means we see all kinds of behaviors and issues surfacing or resurfacing. So watch the video. Remember that we are living a life of service as educators. We get to be the light for so many. It is our responsibility to see the worth in every student.
What will you do this week to see the potential that is in front of you every day?Currently reading:
I started reading a new book this weekend and couldn't put it down. I am halfway through it. It's called Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted. It's about a young woman who has leukemia and survives, but has to learn to live after cancer so she goes on a 15,000 mile road trip. It was a book that I would have just stayed in bed reading all day, but I realized I needed to do things like feed my children and shower!
Events this week:
Monday - 4th grade enrichment canceled - Raptor Lady sick, PTA Meeting in the library at 6:30
Tuesday - CST at 8:30, 4th grade Math MCAS
Wednesday - Liz in PLT meeting from 9-10, Half day dismissal at 12:20, Play Day! Working on placement in the afternoon
Thursday - Optional meeting w/Dr. Reilly @ 8:00am in the library, 4th grade Math MCAS, Finalist Public Interviews from 4-7 in the library
Friday - Paws Pantry Spirit Day! Collecting money for MBB Foundation and ALS
Check it out:
Check out this blog post from The Six Shifts authors about decodable word lists and activities to try: https://thesixshifts.com/2022/05/independent-practice-with-decodable-word-lists/?utm_source=getresponse&utm_medium=email&keywords=&utm_content=Independent%20practice%20with%20decodable%20word%20lists&utm_campaign=Reader-Centered%20Classrooms
Check out this publisher, https://www.boystownpress.org/audience/children-teens/storybooks/, Thank you Kate White for sharing, they publish some great picture books covering important SEL/Executive Function topics. I will be ordering several sets for us!
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