“”We Need to Share Our Stories”

 I have been following George Couros for awhile now. At first, I read his blogs; now, I receive his blogs in my email twice a week and I enjoy his professional as well as personal stories. I had the opportunity to be part of his School Administrators Virtual Mentor Program and I wrote a blog post, Innovative Schools, after reading his first book, The Innovator's Mindset. Recently, George’s third book, Because of a Teacher was published, and it is so appropriate today because our educators have overcome obstacles to provide meaningful learning experiences for their students in the midst of a pandemic. 

There are three parts to this book with stories from different educators. The first part shares about an inspirational teacher, and the second part is about an influential administrator. In the third section, educators share what they would tell their first-year teacher self. As I read each excerpt, I kept thinking about what I would have written.

I think I would have shared about my kindergarten teacher, Miss Mizukami, because that was when I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. Kindergarten was a magical experience for me - making new friends, playing in the house corner, building with blocks, painting on easels, and listening to stories after lunch while lying in our sleeping bags for naptime. I loved those stories so much that when I became a teacher, I read them to my students and to my sons when I became a mom. Books like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Madeline, The Story about Ping, and Caps for Sale still bring back happy memories for me. I am sure I loved reading stories to my students because of these warm memories of being read to when I was in kindergarten.

The administrator who influenced me most was Mrs. Mow, who was my principal at Mililani Mauka Elementary School. It was a wonderful experience working with all of the staff there to open a brand new school, the first "high tech" school in Hawaii.  Learning from David Perkins from Harvard's Project Zero, looping with our students for two school years, having opportunities to meet as grade levels to create curriculum, assessment tasks, and discussing results, learning how to use different tech tools to enhance the teaching and learning experiences, and observing other teachers in their classrooms - these were practices that positively impacted me as a teacher and later as a school principal. Additionally, Mrs. Mow and I were often the first to arrive at school in the mornings, and we had many meaningful conversations about education, about bills being introduced in the Legislature, or discussions at Board of Education meetings. She was the person who suggested that I consider going into administration. Prior to that, I had not given it a thought. I am grateful for her confidence in me. 

Finally, what advice would I give to my first-year self? I started my teaching career way back in 1973; I was hired as a Head Start teacher working with disadvantaged preschoolers and their families. I spent much of the time during that summer before school began to turn a dirty, dusty classroom that had not been used in many years into a bright, inviting learning environment. On the first day of school, one of the boys started taking off the calendar numbers, and I stopped him, telling him not to touch. Shortly after, as I was consoling a little boy who was not happy at being left at school, I heard a scream and a girl crying. I ran over. "He bit me!" she said, and I saw a bite mark that was already starting to bruise. "I told her teacher said not to touch," the boy said solemnly, pointing to the calendar. Wow, and the day hadn't even started. I don't remember much after that, but we got through the rest of the day just fine. In those days, there were no phones in classrooms and no cell phones. So right after the bus picked up the students to take them home, my aide and I got into the car to go to the girl's home. Luckily, we had already been on a home visit to all our families so we had established a relationship with the mother. She was not upset even after seeing the bruise on her daughter's arm. "You'll be fine!" she said. Whew! Two important lessons I learned that day. First, be proactive when something negative happens. Make the phone call or catch the parent after school to let him/her know what happened. It's better coming from you than from their child. Second, my aide and I went back to school and looked at the classroom through the eyes of our students. We actually got down to their level and made sure that everything was safe and we would not have to tell our students not to touch something. In all my teacher preparation classes, I never learned how to set up a classroom. That first day was a lesson for me. 

In the last part of his book titled "We Need to Share Our Stories," George writes, "My hope for this book is that it will remind you why you do what you do. More than that, I hope it inspires you to share the stories of our profession that have made such a positive impact on the world." 

Our schools and our educators have been through many challenges, and not just during this pandemic. Yet, they persevere and do all they can to engage their students in meaningful learning experiences. Now, more than ever, we need to appreciate them for their resilience and their creativity. Let's hope that all educators will realize the positive impact they are having on their students. And let's support our educators by sharing our appreciations. We never know how that one kind word or note could make a difference for an educator. As George says, "Because of a teacher like you, the world is a better place."