“To err is to wander, and wandering is the way we discover the world; and, lost in thought, it is also the way we discover ourselves. Being right might be gratifying, but in the end it is static, a mere statement. Being wrong is hard and humbling, and sometimes even dangerous, but in the end it is a journey, and a story.”
~ Kathryn Schulz
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The Warrior Dash – more than three miles of sun, mud, and obstacles that include but aren’t limited to barbed wire, rusty cars, hay bales, and cargo netting. On July 30, I’m going warrior. Gotta get me some running shoes. Gotta get me some Athleta tanks. Gotta get me a Viking helmet.
Now, how to train for this thing…
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In Kansas, 2011 started off cold but incredibly bright, the kind of bright that only a cold winter day brings. The sky isn’t the same vibrant blue that you see in July or October, but there are no dark clusters of leaves to block the light, no clouds to blot the color. Its paleness seems wider against bare branches. The horizon stretches a little farther in a midwestern winter. It’s a sky of possibilities.
So I sit here, looking out my picture window, past telephone poles and electrical lines, past the cars that pass here and there, through the web of empty branches. What can I achieve this year? How can I grow? Where can I make a positive difference?
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When I tackled the idea of starting a lunchtime Guys Read field office at my son’s elementary school, I figured he and maybe two other kiddos would show up. I invited all boys in grades third through six, but honestly assumed the art room where we’d meet would be so cavernous you’d hear echoes.
Today was our first meeting and WOWZA! About 60 or so guys and a fourth grade teacher showed up! Some guys had to eat lunch on the floor. Not really, but it came close. Here are our highlights:
First order of business: Vote for your favorite things to read. The top 10:
Second order of business: Pick a Guys Read Field Office name. The top suggestions so far:
Third order of Business: Decide how often to meet. Every other Monday during lunch.
So many guys showed up that we didn’t get to talk about some of the cool things we can do this year, like post suggestions or reviews or write and post our own stories at our Guys Read website. The older kids were mightily impressed that I’d met Gordon Korman (and more impressed when I described how big Mr. Korman’s arms are in real life) (they’re huge) and had an autographed copy of Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The younger guys mostly just wanted to tell jokes (Why did the elephant cross the road? To prove he wasn’t a chicken!) and to gape over my son’s copy of Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
It was so much fun.We talked about zombies and smashing stuff. I can’t wait until next time!
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A month ago our school superintendent proposed several major boundary changes and school closures for the 2011-2012 school year. The reasoning was that streamlined operations and reduced facility costs would save significant money. We will overspend by huge amounts if we keep the status quo.
My son’s school is among those proposed to close, with our entire student body transfering to another, newer facility. To make room for us, the plan proposes to transfer 100 students in the other school to a third school, and by doing so make use of the natural boundary of a major, busy roadway. This affected neighborhood happens to the more affluent in our area.
When I first read the report detailing the changes, I thought the planning committee had tried to make significant improvements in a short time while minimizing the impact on the majority of the district’s students. It would be great to have more time to fully exhaust every option, but would it give us different, better solutions? Can the district afford to wait? I don’t know. It seems to me it would be little more than a delay. I’d rather we make our changes and get on the road to financial stability.
Our board held several community meetings to hear from parents. At our school our families wanted reassurance that the planning committee had considered other options before proposing to close. Our teachers wanted the board to know about the many families who benefit from Title 1 services and asked how they might be affected by the change. My concerns were for our staff, the future of the building and site, and how the district might reinvest in our schools once it’s in the black.
Then I read comments from other meetings. If only you could have seen all the resentment and senses of entitlement. I discovered more parents than I expected don’t welcome us at the new school. Comments made at their meeting alluded to assumptions that our parents won’t participate in our children’s education or interact with the school’s community, that we will drain their PTA funds and extra-curricular services without contributing in turn, and that our Title 1 families will strain the learning environment.
I wonder how the thousands of silent parents in our district feel. Do they, like me, believe this is as fair and reasonable as we can hope for given our financial problems? Do they resent those of us who will disrupt their good thing? Do those parents unaffected by the changes feel their opinions don’t count? I understand the gut reaction, “Why should our school suffer?” I hoped rationality would win out and most parents would see the changes, while difficult, eventually benefit all. But emotions ran hot for those who spoke up.
During our community meeting, one of our teachers made an impassioned plea that the board consider the emotional strain on those students for whom our school is the only stability in their lives. Every school has families whose personal issues carry over into the learning environment, but it didn’t hit me until that moment the huge responsibility we ask of our teachers and staff. Each day a river of smiling children flows past me as I wait for my son after school. Whose lives, if we knew the truth, would fully illuminate our own pettiness so blatant in too many of these community meetings? We should be better than this.
I want to believe the families at the other school will roll with the changes should they occur. I do believe our students will adapt and thrive. Still, I worry about the ripple effect from those parents who assume our school’s “lower socio-economic” families will cheapen their school. I want them to know that on October 14 our staff and students received the Standard of Excellence rating.
I support the proposed changes. At the same time I dread the coming school year if the proposals are approved. I write this with a sick feeling that the best we humans can be with each other might not happen, that there is too much resentment and not enough kinship.
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