When my middle was little, he wasn't sure about school. The first days of Kindergarten were quickly approaching, and his nerves were beginning to crackle. Born cynical, some claim, he looked at me with his big, green eyes and said, "School. It's just a place where they tell you what to do." As his mother and a teacher who happened to love school, I was concerned. I held my breath his entire first day until I met him outside at dismissal. He was practically laughing with relief when he reported the details. He liked it. It wasn't just a place where they tell you what to do, he realized.
Years later, he won the lottery to attend a school whose motto is Verbum Sap Sat, meaning a word to the wise is sufficient. The school was founded on the belief that "when left with responsibilities, students will learn and get work done." There, the students don't even need to be told what to do. Enter a global pandemic to test the theory.
Now I'm thinking of my students, connected only by invisible threads weaving through the airwaves. I can tell them what to do, but they can also log out whenever they please. The whole process takes some faith. Just in case they're not listening, I rented an airplane to write letters in the sky.
"Verbum sap sat: Do your homework," I will advise with as many curly-cues and loop-de-loops as I can manage from the cockpit. I hope they do what I say.
Can you fly over Virginia, too? I wonder how many kids still believe that school is where they tell you what to do. If so, we need to change!
ReplyDeleteThis line- “connected only by invisible threads weaving through the airwaves.” I’ve been trying different things including audio messages so they can hear my voice and today I sent some video reminders to those who have not turned in their first assignment. I have faith that we will connect with all of our students. Take care.
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