Thursday, August 27, 2009
Really?
We all have our crosses to bear and yours are no greater than mine. I realize it's all relative and, frankly, I am a believer that we are not given more than we can handle; however, it does seem that some of us must endure more, must work through pain, be it physical or emotional, time and time again, must experience highs and lows that come from a place so seemingly unmerciful that at times you can do little more than scratch your head and think... really?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Fancy Things
If I were to bottle my teaching philosophy and magically build a school from it, the result would be quite similar to Exhibit B's Fancy Schmancy school. As I sat through curriculum night tonight I couldn't help but tear up just a little out of the sheer joy I felt over being able to offer him this experience.
You see, the thing is, they had me at "we are not textbook based" on the school tour a few months back when I was considering applying. They reinforced it with talk of Lucy Caulkins, inquiry-based and experiential learning, curriculum integration, constructivism, literature circles and global citizenship. Tonight, however, what got me was far less theoretical than that. While the teachers were talking about the curriculum they were showing a slide show of photographs of the kids engaged in their everyday activities. One, in particular, caught my eye. It was a picture of Exhibit B doing a freewrite while nestled amongst the high branches of a tree.
In that moment I realized that it doesn't matter, the cost or the sacrifice, because he is, already, forever changed by this opportunity.
Admittedly, I sat in that room this evening feeling like an imposter... as though I didn't belong. I can barely afford this school but would gladly give up a million and one fancy things to keep Exhibit B there for the next 5 years. I listened to them talk about the annual fund and the price range on what things go for at the spring auction... and felt kinda sick.
When I juxtapose the financial burden with what's happening in my life right now, I find it all just a little bit surreal. However, at the end of the day, if my child's education is the fanciest thing I've got going on, I am perfectly OK with that. And then some.
You see, the thing is, they had me at "we are not textbook based" on the school tour a few months back when I was considering applying. They reinforced it with talk of Lucy Caulkins, inquiry-based and experiential learning, curriculum integration, constructivism, literature circles and global citizenship. Tonight, however, what got me was far less theoretical than that. While the teachers were talking about the curriculum they were showing a slide show of photographs of the kids engaged in their everyday activities. One, in particular, caught my eye. It was a picture of Exhibit B doing a freewrite while nestled amongst the high branches of a tree.
In that moment I realized that it doesn't matter, the cost or the sacrifice, because he is, already, forever changed by this opportunity.
Admittedly, I sat in that room this evening feeling like an imposter... as though I didn't belong. I can barely afford this school but would gladly give up a million and one fancy things to keep Exhibit B there for the next 5 years. I listened to them talk about the annual fund and the price range on what things go for at the spring auction... and felt kinda sick.
When I juxtapose the financial burden with what's happening in my life right now, I find it all just a little bit surreal. However, at the end of the day, if my child's education is the fanciest thing I've got going on, I am perfectly OK with that. And then some.
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