And now, you will never be here to hear that. So, I guess I write this for me.
With God's help I will tend to those you leave behind. But, I miss you my nephew.
Goodbye, Robbie.
R.I.P.
11/24/11
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Goodbye, Robbie
I was with you really only a handful of times in your 28 years, son of my brother. I loved you, but you probably have no evidence of that. You were my brother’s son and I loved you by definition. I cared about you, your life, your well-being, and know in my heart of hearts there is very little I would not have done for you. Yes, I feel guilt that I did not do more, did not reach out more, did not pay more attention. I know now you were wounded and I failed to see the wound. You were never worthless, you were never without charm and a winning smile, you were never without huge potential, you were never without the possibility of a great life ahead of you, and you were never un-loved.
Real Improvement
Debbie and I have lived in the same house for over 12 years now. That’s a record for us. And though it is the same house, it is in many ways very different. I am fascinated by the process that triggers then transforms our home. It usually happens this way:
I will be summoned into a room of our house where my wife stands looking reflective. Uh oh, she has had a vision. She has had a vision of what this room could be. Debbie begins to describe colors, flooring, furniture, finishing touches, etc., etc. As her vision is articulated I too see the room in a new way. The room wherein I have been comfortable, content; the room I could walk through in the dark without collision is now somehow less than it could be. I am discontent with the current state. I have seen the vision; in fact, I add to and embellish the vision with my own sense of what the room could be. We talk about it for a week or two, not doing anything but thinking and sharing. This for me is the creative tension stage wherein I sense things are going to change, am not sure exactly how they will change or how we will pay for it, but know I am growing more committed to the change and less content with the current state.
Next we start to shop, usually on-line, and begin to compile a list of what we will need to transform the room. As the bottom line grows, plans adjust. Perhaps we will do this in stages. We finalize our shopping list and head out to purchase. We never have enough resources to do everything we would like to do, but we do not wait for that or we would never do anything. This is the real commitment stage. If we are going to buy this stuff we sure as heck are going to do something with it.
We begin the actual transformation by making a mess. We move out the current stuff, now referred to as the “old stuff” and get down to the bare walls and floor. As we paint, re-floor, etc., we create even a bigger mess, but the vision of what the room could be keeps us going through the construction stage. We make mistakes, change our minds, swap this color for that, this texture for that, etc., but we keep going. After work and on weekends we eagerly tackle the project eventually reaching the point where we know we must finish soon, or declare war, or apply for federal disaster funds.
And then we are done! We haul off the old stuff. We clean up, move new stuff in, add the finishing touches and step back and look at our transformed room. We congratulate each other. We celebrate. We invite folks over to see what we have done. We are proud and pleased, know that it is not perfect, but it is work of our own hands. One room at a time, inside and outside, over 12 years we have gradually transformed our home. Once again I am content, I am at peace, and knowingly await another vision.
The process fascinates me because it works. It begins with a vision and/or a sense of discontent with the current state. The vision is shared and modified by those who have a sense of commitment and ownership in the outcome. Once articulated, the vision is acted on. Old stuff goes away, new stuff heads in. A mess is made during which time the re-visioned space is really not usable and looks worse. Commitment to the vision gets us through the mess and construction phase and plans are always modified. We conclude with a transformation and celebration.
This process would not work if our neighbors came over and criticized our current room and told us we should improve it. Nor would it work if the city mandated that every room must be transformed by a certain date and time meeting certain standards. It surely would not work if we did not have a sense of ownership, nor would it work if we had such a strong sense of commitment to the status quo that we were unable to have a vision or feel discontent. Real home improvement begins with the folks in the inside, not from folks on the outside. Those inside look outside for ideas, for inspiration, for research, but the motivation comes from inside. It involves the folks who have a sense of ownership in the place. It involves real commitment to improvement by people under the same roof.
That’s the part current school reformers do not get. Real improvement is inside-out, not outside-in. A memo, a law, a standard, a fiat does not result in inspired improvement but does result in mandated compliance. No one is excited or inspired by compliance. How simple it would be for Debbie and I to convene, look at Better Homes and Gardens, and send a letter to our grown children telling them that by September 1 they must transform their homes to meet these new standards and comply with our vision of what their homes should be; and, we are reducing their resources while we are making the requirements. We could even add sanctions if they did not comply.
We would never, ever do that.
So, the next time you hear a candidate, or an elected official, or an educational bureaucrat, or a billionaire discuss reform, mandate improvement, propose new standards, new tests, new outcomes, new processes, new evaluation tools, etc., etc., please stand up and say Poppycock and Balderdash. That is not how real improvement gets done. You may want to use language stronger than that if they propose such things and cut funding.
Please join those of us in the schools in our effort to transform and improve via our own visions. All voices that have a stake in the children of our community are welcome to share. The better the vision, the better the transformation.
One last thing: let’s help each other never to be too content with the way things are, too attached to the old stuff and too fearful to throw it away. That is the path that leads to outside-in reform.
I will be summoned into a room of our house where my wife stands looking reflective. Uh oh, she has had a vision. She has had a vision of what this room could be. Debbie begins to describe colors, flooring, furniture, finishing touches, etc., etc. As her vision is articulated I too see the room in a new way. The room wherein I have been comfortable, content; the room I could walk through in the dark without collision is now somehow less than it could be. I am discontent with the current state. I have seen the vision; in fact, I add to and embellish the vision with my own sense of what the room could be. We talk about it for a week or two, not doing anything but thinking and sharing. This for me is the creative tension stage wherein I sense things are going to change, am not sure exactly how they will change or how we will pay for it, but know I am growing more committed to the change and less content with the current state.
Next we start to shop, usually on-line, and begin to compile a list of what we will need to transform the room. As the bottom line grows, plans adjust. Perhaps we will do this in stages. We finalize our shopping list and head out to purchase. We never have enough resources to do everything we would like to do, but we do not wait for that or we would never do anything. This is the real commitment stage. If we are going to buy this stuff we sure as heck are going to do something with it.
We begin the actual transformation by making a mess. We move out the current stuff, now referred to as the “old stuff” and get down to the bare walls and floor. As we paint, re-floor, etc., we create even a bigger mess, but the vision of what the room could be keeps us going through the construction stage. We make mistakes, change our minds, swap this color for that, this texture for that, etc., but we keep going. After work and on weekends we eagerly tackle the project eventually reaching the point where we know we must finish soon, or declare war, or apply for federal disaster funds.
And then we are done! We haul off the old stuff. We clean up, move new stuff in, add the finishing touches and step back and look at our transformed room. We congratulate each other. We celebrate. We invite folks over to see what we have done. We are proud and pleased, know that it is not perfect, but it is work of our own hands. One room at a time, inside and outside, over 12 years we have gradually transformed our home. Once again I am content, I am at peace, and knowingly await another vision.
The process fascinates me because it works. It begins with a vision and/or a sense of discontent with the current state. The vision is shared and modified by those who have a sense of commitment and ownership in the outcome. Once articulated, the vision is acted on. Old stuff goes away, new stuff heads in. A mess is made during which time the re-visioned space is really not usable and looks worse. Commitment to the vision gets us through the mess and construction phase and plans are always modified. We conclude with a transformation and celebration.
This process would not work if our neighbors came over and criticized our current room and told us we should improve it. Nor would it work if the city mandated that every room must be transformed by a certain date and time meeting certain standards. It surely would not work if we did not have a sense of ownership, nor would it work if we had such a strong sense of commitment to the status quo that we were unable to have a vision or feel discontent. Real home improvement begins with the folks in the inside, not from folks on the outside. Those inside look outside for ideas, for inspiration, for research, but the motivation comes from inside. It involves the folks who have a sense of ownership in the place. It involves real commitment to improvement by people under the same roof.
That’s the part current school reformers do not get. Real improvement is inside-out, not outside-in. A memo, a law, a standard, a fiat does not result in inspired improvement but does result in mandated compliance. No one is excited or inspired by compliance. How simple it would be for Debbie and I to convene, look at Better Homes and Gardens, and send a letter to our grown children telling them that by September 1 they must transform their homes to meet these new standards and comply with our vision of what their homes should be; and, we are reducing their resources while we are making the requirements. We could even add sanctions if they did not comply.
We would never, ever do that.
So, the next time you hear a candidate, or an elected official, or an educational bureaucrat, or a billionaire discuss reform, mandate improvement, propose new standards, new tests, new outcomes, new processes, new evaluation tools, etc., etc., please stand up and say Poppycock and Balderdash. That is not how real improvement gets done. You may want to use language stronger than that if they propose such things and cut funding.
Please join those of us in the schools in our effort to transform and improve via our own visions. All voices that have a stake in the children of our community are welcome to share. The better the vision, the better the transformation.
One last thing: let’s help each other never to be too content with the way things are, too attached to the old stuff and too fearful to throw it away. That is the path that leads to outside-in reform.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Literacies
Our band, that is our directors and our kids, performed absolutely fantastically at the state marching band contest last week. I have seen the routine many times, but never with so much enthusiasm, with so much heart. And the stakes were high. The 19 best 2A bands in the state were assembled in the Alamodome in San Antonio for a grueling day alternating between adrenaline rush and boredom. As each band took the field, parents and supporters cheered and hollered. Edna was very well represented, and our group was more vocal than most waving home made pom-poms and yelling, "Go Big Blue" under the able leadership of our High School Principal. I am proud, and hope you are too.
On the long drive home from San Antonio I thought about all those kids and their parents. We did not win state, but for each band student we have won something much more important.
School folks spend a lot of time talking "literacy." In its most basic form we mean the ability to read, write and comprehend our language. We want our kids to be literate. We more recently have begun discussions around the concept of mathematical literacy. We want our kids to be fluent in math, number sense, problem solving, and operations. Computer literacy is a reasonably new term and many of our kids come to us now adept in that field. Foreign language literacy is something we also require to graduate from high school and I lament that I am monolingual. We require students to take science and social science courses as well, and those literacies become increasingly important in this century when we must continue to advance on the scientific front and we must make wise decisions in our democracy, ever mindful of our history, our sociology, our psychology, our economics and our rational form of government. We teach all these literacies.
We devote a lot of resources to psycho-motor literacy as well. Muscle memory and athletic prowess fall in this area, and we staff fully, practice faithfully, and compete strongly. Perhaps some will argue this is not a literacy, but the ability to read the rules, the plays, know defenses and offenses, keep score, and understand penalties deeply enrich both our participation and observation in this arena.
I would argue there exists at least one other literacy that is equally important. Fine arts literacy. We require students to get credits in the fine arts to graduate, and the most gifted in this area migrate to band, choir, art, theatre and dance. These arts touch the human spirit and the products and performances of these arts define us as a species. "I don't know art, but I know what I like" is a brag akin to saying, "I don't know the Internet ..., I don't know math ..., I don't know music, ....," etc. I find all these statements offensive as an educator and as one who is educated. I know that when archaeologists and historians describe our ancestors they do so in terms of the art, music, and cultures of the people. It will be the same for us someday, and that worries me.
Music literacy is particularly important to me. Learning to read music was a blessing for me and I wish that all mastered that skill. (OK, I like the movie "Sound of Music", especially the scene when Julie Andrews as Maria teaches the Von Trapp kids to sing using Do Re Me. Even more, I like August Rush, a movie you must see if you have not. It is to music what the "The Blind Side" is to football.) I began public school in Oklahoma where 3rd graders began playing instruments. I played the violin until my family moved to Texas and my elementary school here did not offer such an opportunity. I was in the band in junior high and choir in high school. (Yes, I was also in athletics.) Playing an instrument and/or singing in a choir is something everyone can do. Real excellence comes from quality coaching and hours of practice, but real enjoyment of the richness of music is almost immediately present once you know the score, as it were. I am very proud of our elementary music program, our band program, our guitar and keyboarding classes, and wish we could do more. Listening to music, even singing along, without understanding the structure of music is like hearing the 23rd Psalm and not being able to read it and study it.
As resources get tighter it becomes more and more challenging to maintain the programs we offer across the entire spectrum. Clearly, we will always offer literacy development in the core subjects. It is clear that our community wants and expects us to offer psycho-motor literacy programs, so we will do that too. I will do all that I can to maintain fine arts literacy and hope that you support that as well. As a nation we can ill afford to graduate a generation of students who are illiterate in any of these areas.
On the long drive home from San Antonio I thought about all those kids and their parents. We did not win state, but for each band student we have won something much more important.
School folks spend a lot of time talking "literacy." In its most basic form we mean the ability to read, write and comprehend our language. We want our kids to be literate. We more recently have begun discussions around the concept of mathematical literacy. We want our kids to be fluent in math, number sense, problem solving, and operations. Computer literacy is a reasonably new term and many of our kids come to us now adept in that field. Foreign language literacy is something we also require to graduate from high school and I lament that I am monolingual. We require students to take science and social science courses as well, and those literacies become increasingly important in this century when we must continue to advance on the scientific front and we must make wise decisions in our democracy, ever mindful of our history, our sociology, our psychology, our economics and our rational form of government. We teach all these literacies.
We devote a lot of resources to psycho-motor literacy as well. Muscle memory and athletic prowess fall in this area, and we staff fully, practice faithfully, and compete strongly. Perhaps some will argue this is not a literacy, but the ability to read the rules, the plays, know defenses and offenses, keep score, and understand penalties deeply enrich both our participation and observation in this arena.
I would argue there exists at least one other literacy that is equally important. Fine arts literacy. We require students to get credits in the fine arts to graduate, and the most gifted in this area migrate to band, choir, art, theatre and dance. These arts touch the human spirit and the products and performances of these arts define us as a species. "I don't know art, but I know what I like" is a brag akin to saying, "I don't know the Internet ..., I don't know math ..., I don't know music, ....," etc. I find all these statements offensive as an educator and as one who is educated. I know that when archaeologists and historians describe our ancestors they do so in terms of the art, music, and cultures of the people. It will be the same for us someday, and that worries me.
Music literacy is particularly important to me. Learning to read music was a blessing for me and I wish that all mastered that skill. (OK, I like the movie "Sound of Music", especially the scene when Julie Andrews as Maria teaches the Von Trapp kids to sing using Do Re Me. Even more, I like August Rush, a movie you must see if you have not. It is to music what the "The Blind Side" is to football.) I began public school in Oklahoma where 3rd graders began playing instruments. I played the violin until my family moved to Texas and my elementary school here did not offer such an opportunity. I was in the band in junior high and choir in high school. (Yes, I was also in athletics.) Playing an instrument and/or singing in a choir is something everyone can do. Real excellence comes from quality coaching and hours of practice, but real enjoyment of the richness of music is almost immediately present once you know the score, as it were. I am very proud of our elementary music program, our band program, our guitar and keyboarding classes, and wish we could do more. Listening to music, even singing along, without understanding the structure of music is like hearing the 23rd Psalm and not being able to read it and study it.
As resources get tighter it becomes more and more challenging to maintain the programs we offer across the entire spectrum. Clearly, we will always offer literacy development in the core subjects. It is clear that our community wants and expects us to offer psycho-motor literacy programs, so we will do that too. I will do all that I can to maintain fine arts literacy and hope that you support that as well. As a nation we can ill afford to graduate a generation of students who are illiterate in any of these areas.
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