More Coffee, Please

One of the things I sometimes forget—and this is a flaw, I know it is, and I admit it, and I am working on it—is there’s more to life and success than college. Despite the fact dozens of my kids are making more money than I ever will, despite the fact home-ownership has taught me how little I really know about some very important things, despite the fact I can look at an electrical manual or similar and have no clue what it is I’m seeing, I still tend to think academia when I think of success.

I’m working on that.

More importantly, there are (thankfully!) dozens who don’t share my blind-spot. It’s part of the school’s task to make sure all are students are successful, and (especially right now) making sure they have the resources and skills they need to find employment is vital.

Which is one reason I’m again glad to see the students who will be participating in the Job Fest & Career Employment Fair at Keene State this coming Thursday. If helping our kids get out there, meet employers, and be part of the work-force that is so vital for this country isn’t important, I don’t know what is.

MRHS is working on putting together a Memorial Day program for this coming Friday. Given ho much we owe to those who are now, and have been, in uniform, it seems altogether proper and wonderful that we do this.

But what is always most impressive is the sheer numbers of students (and staff!) who have opted to serve their nation. We need those people, and we’re fortunate we have them.

Upward Bound starts very soon. In addition, I’ll be taking three courses over the summer. There at least two committees I want to be a part of (there might be more…) and there’s also a new house, and a cord or so of wood that needs to be cut and stacked before fall.

That’s off the top of my head—I’m sure I’m missing something. I can’t wait for September to start so things will be more peaceful…

Tonight is prom. I’ve talked about this little event more than once, and I’ve probably made my feelings pretty clear.

Still, I’m a little hopeful this year. Partly, it’s because we banned talking about prom at MC² on Friday. Not having to listen to that much constant prattling certainly made it easier to deal with—and not for me, but for the students who aren’t going. Prom is a rather tragic thing for the person who wanted to go, and couldn’t afford to, or didn’t get asked.

But I’m going to be more positive for other reasons. The mood in the building—and among the students—is far better than it has been in the past few years. This group of seniors is going out having been successful, having made a difference, having done well on standardized tests and with the idea they’re winners from a school “on the rise.”

There’s a different mood in the building. There’s a better sense of prepping the students for what they’re going to see—a meeting after school on Thursday where they were explicitly told they would not be walking out to their car (for whatever reason) without an adult and allowed to come back in.

Even better, they accept that—they get the idea that they’re to have fun, that they’re to have a nice night, and that it’s not about being wild, about breaking the rules. It’s about spending time together.

We’ll see how it all comes together tonight—but I’m hopeful.

Oh man… I have enough personal days to make this possible, but I don’t think it would work out. Where was this when April break rolled around?

That is an amazing deal. I would love to grab 20-30 kids, a group of adults, and just go. They’d talk about it for years.

This article wasn’t what I thought it might be, but still a fun read.

For what its worth, every diploma I’ve ever seen has been in English.

So one of my new favorite reads is Clay Burell’s blog, and from there, The Core Knowledge Blog, and from there, The Hoover Institution.

All of which are talking about something that most teachers have been saying for years—that a bad apple can (and often does) spoil the whole bunch.

That isn’t a surprise. It does, however, point to the need to find other ways to educate kids who will cause a disruption in the regular classroom., whether it’s because their needs aren’t being met or because there are problems at home.

There needs to be a multiplicity of ways to get a student to a diploma—and the more options we have, the more we can make sure that the kids who are sitting in the traditional classroom are not disruptive, the kids who are engaged in this program are not disruptive, the kids who are engaged in that program are not disruptive, and then every kid will find success.

The wonderful news? This is the main topic on the table for a host of meetings, committees, and teams of teachers. Steps have been made to really identify what is inside the building for students who need more help already, and plans are well along the way to make sure that there are many more options.

MRHS is working exceptionally hard to make sure there are many different ways of reaching out to students in ways to make certain they have what they need.

And that’s great to see.¹

1 Yes, I did add the last three paragraphs Sunday afternoon. Upon reflection, it seemed to me that I stated the need quite clearly, and not the idea that things are being done about it. Both are important to know.↺

Gregarious

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