Archive for November, 2009

I just wanted to take this Thanksgiving opportunity to let you know that I am thankful to have you as a part of my Outrageous Teaching e-mail and blog family.  I look forward to being able to stay in contact with you through this format and would love to hear your thoughts, examples, and questions.

One of the best changes I’ve made in my life is to try to start each day with an attitude of gratitude.  Each morning when I swing my feet out of bed I take a moment and mentally run through the things in my life for which I am thankful.  I don’t do it like I am reciting a grocery list but with sincere feeling and emotion.  If you want more positive things to come into your life, the best place to start is by showing thanks for all that is already there.  Next, I firmly and confidently set my intentions upon actualizing the type of person and life that is my goal and vision.  All of this might only take two minutes of time in the morning but it can be as powerful as you make it.

I have started to do a similar ritual during the last few minutes of my drive into work.  I turn off whatever I am listening to and concentrate on breathing full and deep, in through the nose and out through the mouth, while affirming the type of day that I intend to have and the type of teacher I intend to be.  I know that this is too far “out there” for some of you but all I can say is don’t knock until you try it sincerely for a month.  You might just find it to be an addicting habit and not the type of habit that you need to kick.

Thank you for dedicating your life to a profession that is one of the most influential and powerful in the whole world.  I can’t think of anything more important than shaping and molding the minds and spirits of young people.  I know teaching has had some bad press lately and there are always a few idiots who think they know everything that’s wrong in education but have never taught a day in their life.  I don’t even bother to engage them or worry about the press because it’s not worth my time and energy and it’s not worth yours, either.  You can’t measure a teacher’s impact in D/F rates and standardized test scores.  A teacher’s impact can only be measured through generations.  I know what it takes to stand in front of a class and teach everyday so I appreciate that you have chosen to rise up to the challenge and fulfill one of the most significant roles that any society has to offer.

I have reached a breaking point with the unit I am currently teaching.  It just isn’t good enough and it is far from great.  I have finally put my finger on why I have been frustrated for the past week and it is very simple…this unit doesn’t live up to my standards.  Don’t get me wrong, students are learning and it is definitely not horrible but I didn’t get into teaching to be average.  I go into anything with the will to be great and settling for less is cheating me and my kids.

There is more to it that is frustrating.  This unit was average for the last couple of years and each year I’ve said to myself that it is time to change it.  The problem is that I DIDN’T change it.  There was no commitment.  I was interested in changing it.  I considered changing it.  Interest, consideration, and good intentions get you nothing!  Only COMMITMENT followed by ACTION gets the job done.

I was interested in losing excess weight and getting into shape for a couple of years but that didn’t make my pants fit any better.  About 15 months ago I made a commitment that I was going to raise my standards of what was physically acceptable and I committed to changing my lifestyle and training with a passion and enthusiasm that matched my new goals and vision.  Then I took ACTION!  Now it’s 44 pounds later and I look forward to working out every single day and it has become easier to make better decisions for my health.

The key is that I tried for years to do this for myself but it was only after reaching a frustration level high enough to generate a true commitment that change happened.  Commitment means cutting off all alternatives and refusing to give credence to excuses and obstacles.

I hereby COMMIT to changing this average unit into a monster of student engagement before I teach it again.

What standards do you need to raise in your life and work and are you ready to truly commit?

Dave Burgess
daveburgess.com
E-mail: outrageousteaching@gmail.com

On consecutive days this past week I was reminded of both how incredibly strong our students can be and, at the same time, fragile.  First, I got word that a student had made an attempt on their life.  This is a student who seemed to me to be in a particular good place at the moment with a recent development at school that was an exciting personal success.  What we see of our student’s life in our one little class period is like the very tip of the iceberg of what is really going on at a deeper level.

The very next day I was having a casual lunchtime conversation with a student who had come into my class to work on a project when she said something that shocked me.  In discussing her lack of time to get work done, she made an off-hand comment that she walks an hour and a half home each night after her extra-curricular activity.  Wow!  Here is a student who is doing well academically, participating in extra-curricular activities, and dealing with the consequences of her family not having a car.  She was not complaining , like most of her peers would if they had to walk 15 minutes, she was stating the fact of the matter to explain why she works through lunch.

Two good examples in two days that our students are dealing with a lot more than we’ll probably ever know.  What we offer in the way of rapport, validation, and support can make all the difference in the world.  Students’ lives are a lot more complex than a G.P.A. and a test score.