One of Those Weeks, Take Two

Looking at my last post, it reflected what goes wrong.  This week was another one of those weeks, but instead of what goes wrong, it was filled with what is so very right.  I was privileged to be part of and witness the power of passion.

Farmington is a QComp district and at FHS, we work to make the most of the program.  One part of the program are Professional Development Plans and Portfolios.  The Plans are ideas, concepts and action plans teacher want to use to improve student achievement, the portfolios are the data and artifacts.  A small group of us review both and what we saw amazed us.  Teachers at their innovative best, doing great things in their classroom and students responding.  It was breathtaking.
As we read the documents, the air in the room became charged..."read this!"  "Look at that, we need to have that shared with the whole staff.!"  We couldn't stop reading and we couldn't stop talking.  The dedication of the FHS staff to the achievement of 1,900 students is simply inspiring.  It was for us a day of celebration.

This brings me to the larger picture.  I spent many a day in meetings during my tenure in Corporate America.  Virtually every meeting was concerned with how to get other companies to buy what they probably do not need because that meant higher profits and bigger salaries and bonuses.  They were mind-boggling exhausting.  I never, ever found a greater purpose in those meetings.

What has thrilled me since I entered the teaching profession 11 years ago is the fire and passion teachers have for their students, for their subject area, for being creative and collaborative...all to bring the best out in each other and in their students.  Teachers do not do what they do for money, they do it for the greater good.  They do it despite being criticized in person, in public and as fodder for political gain. They do it because they recognize the need for an educated civil society.  Our society will not be sustained by ipads and iphones, 24/7 news, reality shows and unadulterated greed.  Our society will be sustained by citizens knowing and doing for the greater good,  using their amassed knowledge to discern the truth, having compassion and understanding for EVERYONE within our borders.

It is May and some people will begin the chant of teachers have the summer off..how lazy.  What I see are teachers stretching to reach students as the final days of the school year race across the calendar.  I see teachers looking to next year already.  I hear all over FHS teachers looking at the summer as a time to get together to improve, to innovate, to collaborate all in order to educate.  That is passion, sweet, sweet passion.