My son, Liam, is home this weekend. He’s a Junior at Ohio State University. We’re thankful he actually made it to college. Not because he was incapable; he did well in school, graduating a year early and entering college as a sophomore. No, we were unsure if he would go to college because early in his life, the fire that he had for education was all but extinguished by the time he graduated. The cause of the fire being put out? Simple. He was a square peg being ground into a round hole.
It began when he was only 7 years old and I distinctly remember the sadness that took root inside me; as a teacher, I desperately wanted him to love learning. It wasn’t until he was in high school, however, that the sadness turned to anger. How, in the 21st Century, could we still be herding kids into a one-size-fits-all corral? It was excruciating to hear him talk about sitting behind a desk, eight hours a day, five days a week, a prisoner of an archaic educational system. His only joy was coming home, getting on the computer and feeding himself huge doses of information he WAS interested in…the military, how to succeed in life and what it takes to be an entrepreneur. A small ember, still burning but just barely.
This is not an indictment of teachers; we’re handed a script and we do the best we can with what we have but because Liam occupies a huge part of my heart, you can imagine how this fueled my desire to change how we “do” school. It’s why, after 30 years of teaching, I am still passionate about fostering change and why I made the decision to return to the classroom after being out for 10 years. On Monday, when I go to school, I will know that my son dwells in every beautiful corner of that space.
Thanks for reminding me about the Liams. I worry I get frustrated as a teacher. Instead, I should know if I’m frustrated, then I need to remain flexible so all in the room can learn what they need to learn.