Nothing Less.

This morning I sprang out of my bed with excitement! While in the shower, I ran through the plan for the day over and over in my head and out loud. I closed my eyes and visualized what the day would look like. In the car, I recited some positive affirmations to make sure I was in the right mindset to be my best. Then, I parked my truck, walked through the doors, and taught my ass off all day long!

📷​​SMXLL 📷

See, I’m a teacher. I have the best, and most important, job in the world. I oversee the most valuable asset we have as a planet… the future. That’s not a responsibility I take lightly. I wake up every morning with the fullest intention of being present, engaged, and relevant with my students. My kiddos deserve nothing less.

📷​​SMLXL 📷

Today was an especially outstanding day. I had a breakthrough (and I mean BREAKTHROUGH) with one of my students who struggles to manage a learning disability. I have spent 8,686 minutes developing, supporting, and advancing this student. Today, on the 101st day of school, I listened from afar as he confidently explained his reasoning of a problem to his shoulder partner. I cheered for him when he asked if he could explain to the rest of the class how he came to his conclusion. I’m happy he’s learning the math, but I’m THRILLED he’s gaining confidence and respect for himself. It was a good day.

📷​​SMLXL 📷

But, then I heard news coming in from Washington. We learned today that Betsy DeVoss was confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Education. This appointment stung for many educators all around the United States (myself included). Mrs. DeVoss has no experience working or studying in public schools. Mrs. DeVoss has been an outspoken advocate for school choice, vouchers, and charter schools. She stands firmly against many of the ideals and values I hold close to my heart.

However, her nomination has not been without controversy. Parents, community members, and teachers from every state have spoken out against Mrs. DeVoss’ nomination. Much like Super Bowl 51, the vote for Betsy DeVoss’ confirmation went to overtime, and ultimately Vice President Pence voted to back our President’s nomination for Secretary of Education. I think there are many American citizens who are full of questions and confusion tonight.

What I’m about to say will not be popular with many of my teaching friends, but I need to say it. The sky is not falling. No, I do not think vouchers which take money and resources from public schools are a good idea. No, I do not think we need firearms to protect our schools from grizzly bears. No, I don’t think it should be left to the states to decide if they provide an equitable education to students with disabilities. But, I do think public schools need to change, and we should view the DeVoss confirmation as a wakeup call that others agree. Although graduation rates are near an all-time high (around 80%), that is simply not good enough. We are ignoring the needs of 20% of our kids! Not acceptable. Although close to 70% of our graduates go on to further their education in some sort of post-secondary program (certification, two-year college, four-year university, military… ), less than 40% of our students ever finish their post-secondary programs! That means our public schools are not preparing students to be successful post-secondary. Not acceptable. We can do better. We MUST do better.

Let me be clear: the burden of these struggles does not fall squarely on the shoulders of teachers. These are deep societal issues that are buried deep in poverty, race, economics, mental health, and changing family structures. These are issues that will take an entire nation working together to fix. But, if we’re going to spend time and money fixing our nation’s problems, I can’t think of anywhere I would want to invest our resources in more than our kids. They deserve nothing less.

📷​​SMLXL 📷

Teachers, lift your chin up. Roll up your sleeves. No matter whose name plate is on the Secretary of Education’s door, we must spring out of our beds tomorrow morning! We have the best, most important, job in the world. Tomorrow morning the future of our planet will be in our hands. It is not a responsibility we can take lightly. We have BREAKTHROUGHS to make tomorrow. Tomorrow we need to park our cars, walk through the doors, and teach our asses off all day long! Our kiddos deserve nothing less.

📷​​SMLXL 📷