Recently, I read a blog titled, "On Being Fired from My Job" by Lory Peroff, a National Board Certified Teacher and Hope Street Alumna. No, she wasn't fired from her teaching job; she was fired from a job she had writing for Civil Beat, a local publication.
I know Lory. I was the principal who hired her when she started teaching, 17 years ago. In fact, I nominated her as a Milken Teacher of Promise because as a new teacher, she was so innovative, caring, and created wonderful relationships with her students. Lory started doing project-based learning before it became a buzzword in education. Her students collected hygiene items for the homeless, and raised plants organically, sharing what they learned through a classroom blog, garden tours, and presentations to the school community as well as other principals. Because many of our students had parents who were deployed, Lory shared articles in the newspaper about current events, and student questions drove the discussions. As I’ve observed her continued growth after she left our school to teach abroad and now at Waikiki Elementary School, I cannot help but feel grateful to know her personally as well as professionally.
I was so proud when I opened up my Civil Beat app that morning and saw her first article. I was thrilled that she would be a regular contributor to their publication. Lory is an engaging writer, and I found myself looking forward to reading what she had to share. Therefore, I was a bit concerned when I realized that I was no longer seeing her articles. I wondered why. When I read her explanation, I couldn’t believe it. “Edgier?” They want articles that show the negative side of education? Maybe that’s the problem.
Lory shared a side of education that the general public might not have known about. She talked about the lack of funding for the arts and how their school sought out grants to have artists come to share their craft with students. She discussed the challenges of living in Hawaii on a teacher’s salary, and she shared deep concerns her students had about the state of our country and their discussions via “Philosophy for Children.” Like most educators I worked with, however, Lory saw the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. She saw challenges within our system or within her school or classroom, but she chose to seek solutions rather than just complaining.
I know that teachers like Lory are making a difference for students; this is why I looked forward to reading her articles and why I follow her on Twitter. Recently, she reached out to Eran Ganot, the University of Hawaii basketball coach, about a student’s persuasive letter to spend time with a UH basketball player. What a thrill for that student to be invited to practice with the team, a possible life-changing event for him! These kinds of stories are so important in changing the perception of the public about our schools. It is a shame that so much of the news is negative and that the public impression of schools is often based on test scores.
I remember years ago when my husband explained about porcupine power; that explanation stuck with me (pun intended). It means that those who are loudest or abrasive or the most prickly often get what they want or their side of an issue is what is heard and shared. Porcupine power doesn’t work for teachers like Lory and the thousands of others like her in our Department; rather, these teachers work tirelessly to address challenges without complaining or asking for public sympathy. We need to hear more of their stories and how they’ve overcome perceived challenges to engage and empower their students to be the best they can be.
I like reading Civil Beat; that is one of the first apps I check every morning when I wake up. This time, though, I think they got things wrong. Lory’s and other teachers’ stories need to be shared; we don’t need “edgier.” We need hope and positivity and stories of overcoming perceived challenges to help our students be the best they can be. Our schools, our teachers, and our kids deserve that.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Should Our Best and Brightest Become Teachers?
“How would you respond when someone you respect tells you your talents and abilities are being ‘wasted’ as a teacher?”
I saw this question posted on Twitter, and I’ve been thinking of an appropriate response. I know that the “best and brightest” are often encouraged to become attorneys or doctors or engineers and discouraged from going into teaching. How do we change the perception that teaching is not for our best and brightest?
Through my years as an educator, I worked with or connected with teachers who were in their second career. They worked in businesses or had jobs in the travel industry or were engineers out of college. Some of them took big pay cuts to become teachers, and when questioned, their responses were similar. They shared that they didn’t feel fulfilled in their previous profession and absolutely did not regret their decision to become a teacher.
What motivates us in our decision to pursue a career? Is it status? Economic stability? The ability to grow professionally? The opportunity to make a difference? Impacting our next generation? Something that stokes a passion? If we pursue a career for the "wrong" reasons, we may not feel fulfilled and may not give our best effort.
Not everyone can be a teacher. It takes a special kind of person to spend their whole day with kids and to commit to all the expectations of an educator. Teachers teach much more than academic skills. School is an opportunity for students to learn empathy, to work with others who have different strengths and challenges, to gain confidence through support from not just teachers but from classmates as well, to care about our world, to be exposed to new ideas, to have opportunities to pursue passions they didn’t know about before, and so much more! Teachers don’t just teach content. Teachers teach students, and therefore, teachers impact our future. These students will be our workforce, our leaders, our innovators to tackle the challenges in our community, our state, our country, and our world.
I can’t think of a more influential profession than teaching. After all, every other profession depends on teachers to do their job in educating our children. Journalist Charles Kuralt stated, “When we become a mature, grown-up, wise society, we will put teachers at the center of the community, where they belong. We don’t honor them enough; we don’t pay them enough.” Nelson Mandela shared, “Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world.”
I recently read this article by Valerie Strauss, a writer for the Washington Post: "What teaching is and isn't." I think she accurately and succinctly explains why others may think that the "best and brightest" should aspire to a different profession. As for me, I was thrilled to hire the "best and brightest" at our school. Giving them opportunities to grow professionally and to take on leadership roles made a difference for our school community.
I saw this question posted on Twitter, and I’ve been thinking of an appropriate response. I know that the “best and brightest” are often encouraged to become attorneys or doctors or engineers and discouraged from going into teaching. How do we change the perception that teaching is not for our best and brightest?
Through my years as an educator, I worked with or connected with teachers who were in their second career. They worked in businesses or had jobs in the travel industry or were engineers out of college. Some of them took big pay cuts to become teachers, and when questioned, their responses were similar. They shared that they didn’t feel fulfilled in their previous profession and absolutely did not regret their decision to become a teacher.
What motivates us in our decision to pursue a career? Is it status? Economic stability? The ability to grow professionally? The opportunity to make a difference? Impacting our next generation? Something that stokes a passion? If we pursue a career for the "wrong" reasons, we may not feel fulfilled and may not give our best effort.
Not everyone can be a teacher. It takes a special kind of person to spend their whole day with kids and to commit to all the expectations of an educator. Teachers teach much more than academic skills. School is an opportunity for students to learn empathy, to work with others who have different strengths and challenges, to gain confidence through support from not just teachers but from classmates as well, to care about our world, to be exposed to new ideas, to have opportunities to pursue passions they didn’t know about before, and so much more! Teachers don’t just teach content. Teachers teach students, and therefore, teachers impact our future. These students will be our workforce, our leaders, our innovators to tackle the challenges in our community, our state, our country, and our world.
I can’t think of a more influential profession than teaching. After all, every other profession depends on teachers to do their job in educating our children. Journalist Charles Kuralt stated, “When we become a mature, grown-up, wise society, we will put teachers at the center of the community, where they belong. We don’t honor them enough; we don’t pay them enough.” Nelson Mandela shared, “Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world.”
I recently read this article by Valerie Strauss, a writer for the Washington Post: "What teaching is and isn't." I think she accurately and succinctly explains why others may think that the "best and brightest" should aspire to a different profession. As for me, I was thrilled to hire the "best and brightest" at our school. Giving them opportunities to grow professionally and to take on leadership roles made a difference for our school community.
Friday, January 4, 2019
From Cook to Chef
Our grandson, Jayden loves to cook! For his 9th birthday, we bought him a 6-month subscription to Raddish. Every month, he receives recipes that kids can cook with the help of an adult. We asked him to bring his recipe binder when he came to visit us in Hawaii so he could cook for us. We agreed on a menu and made out our shopping list. He and his brother, Jace, went with me to the market, and truthfully, we had to search for some of the items because I had never bought them before.
We spent more than three hours preparing dinner! Jayden selected the menu: Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, Apple Turkey Meatballs (he also made Apple Beef Meatballs since Grandpa Randy doesn’t like ground turkey), and Hot Cocoa Cupcakes. It was such a learning experience, not just for Jayden, but for me as well. The recipes appear to be simple, but nothing is short-cutted. Jayden had to read the instructions carefully, and it’s great that there are step-by-step instructions with accompanying illustrations. Raddish also adds interesting information about the dish or the ingredients and even adds jokes, art projects, and a Featured Culinary Skill with each recipe. I was also thrilled that Jayden was practicing math skills in a very practical way.
We had great discussions as we worked. I had to help him with some of the tasks but for the most part, Jayden was the cook. We discussed that - was he a cook or a chef? - and we agreed that until he learns the basics and gets more experience, he is a cook. When he starts to change up recipes and become more innovative, then he can call himself a chef. This led to a great series of questions from Jayden: Can a recipe be copyrighted? What happens if a chef has a signature dish, hires someone to prepare it, and that person leaves and takes the recipe with him? Isn’t that wrong? We ended up researching and having a discussion about the moral issue of "stealing" someone else's recipe. In the end, Jayden decided it would be wrong to "steal" someone's recipe; instead, he wants to make his own signature dishes.
What was most surprising to me was Jayden's perseverance; he was totally focused and never once complained that the job was too hard or boring. The meatballs weren't perfectly round, and some of the cupcakes caved in. However, they tasted great; in fact, Grandpa Randy ate three cupcakes! Jayden asked if we could extend his subscription for another six months, and I readily agreed. I loved seeing his focus and his obvious pride in preparing a full dinner for us, and hearing our compliments must have been so gratifying for him. I appreciate that his Dad enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and is passing on that love to Jayden.
Go for it, Jayden!
We spent more than three hours preparing dinner! Jayden selected the menu: Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, Apple Turkey Meatballs (he also made Apple Beef Meatballs since Grandpa Randy doesn’t like ground turkey), and Hot Cocoa Cupcakes. It was such a learning experience, not just for Jayden, but for me as well. The recipes appear to be simple, but nothing is short-cutted. Jayden had to read the instructions carefully, and it’s great that there are step-by-step instructions with accompanying illustrations. Raddish also adds interesting information about the dish or the ingredients and even adds jokes, art projects, and a Featured Culinary Skill with each recipe. I was also thrilled that Jayden was practicing math skills in a very practical way.
We had great discussions as we worked. I had to help him with some of the tasks but for the most part, Jayden was the cook. We discussed that - was he a cook or a chef? - and we agreed that until he learns the basics and gets more experience, he is a cook. When he starts to change up recipes and become more innovative, then he can call himself a chef. This led to a great series of questions from Jayden: Can a recipe be copyrighted? What happens if a chef has a signature dish, hires someone to prepare it, and that person leaves and takes the recipe with him? Isn’t that wrong? We ended up researching and having a discussion about the moral issue of "stealing" someone else's recipe. In the end, Jayden decided it would be wrong to "steal" someone's recipe; instead, he wants to make his own signature dishes.
What was most surprising to me was Jayden's perseverance; he was totally focused and never once complained that the job was too hard or boring. The meatballs weren't perfectly round, and some of the cupcakes caved in. However, they tasted great; in fact, Grandpa Randy ate three cupcakes! Jayden asked if we could extend his subscription for another six months, and I readily agreed. I loved seeing his focus and his obvious pride in preparing a full dinner for us, and hearing our compliments must have been so gratifying for him. I appreciate that his Dad enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and is passing on that love to Jayden.
Go for it, Jayden!
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