As I was standing
by the gym door at the assembly yesterday, the principal was talking to another
teacher who had done something to make his life a little more challenging. At one point he looked in my direction and quietly
said “Yeah. And some teachers want to paint a wall.” I appreciated the humor,
but also acknowledge the place he has in the revolution my kids started. He is
the front man on a project he knew nothing about until two days ago that got
the go ahead from the district within a few hours.
I am the
instigator, focusing entirely on the positive of the project. That is where my
energy is going. My heart is with my kids.
My heart is in this completely. He, on the other hand, is visualizing the
conversation he might have to have to explain this little revolution from a
different perspective.
In preparation for
our school policy on this project, I asked my students about the purpose of
this project the: “Why do you want to do this?”
they had interesting thoughts to share.
It was their idea after all to bring it to our school so they better be
able to explain it. Here they are in action with their reasoning:
The purpose of our
Interactive Wall Project is to…
express how we feel
make awesome memories
leave something for younger generations to continue
discover that we are not so different
help kids aspire to do something more with their lives
be happy and excited and more engaged in our classes
be encouraged to be more involved in school
give students a space to share and express themselves
give positivity to students and the school
get people involved
spread the positivity and the hope that each of us has
within us with those around us.
promote the creative voice of the student body through
literacy
motivate the students to achieve their aspirations
to feel comfortable in a school where there is support
and no judgment to one’s opinion
become aware of our cultural diversity
stand as a positive advocate to the students and
adults alike
allow the students to express their voice and respect
other’s ideals and backgrounds
promote connection between students
create a sense of positive community
allow students to express their feelings out loud
get more students involved with reading and writing
that is made to be fun
learn what interests students and share
inspire others to create this in more schools
see what people will say
promote the unity of our Highland community
promote literacy and creativity for students through a
hands-on activity
provide a way for students to happily participate in
the learning process
allow students to express or show their ideas, such as
their perspectives, on certain topics
help to expand students’ reading and writing skills
give students an opportunity to express themselves not
only through the writing that will be involved, but also because of the art
work
teach us to work together as a team to accomplish this
big idea
be more involved in school activities that we actually
like and are putting together
start thinking about whatever it is the phrase of the
week says, whether it is “After I graduate…”, “My inspiration is…”
create a positive impact on the community and on us
as a simple everyday question
realize the little things you don’t take advantage of
and try to make the best of the situation
show the community that students think about what can
happen later, not just what is happening now
bring community closer
show all the voices here at Highland and show who
makes up Highland
connect students and see what goals we have
show other people, who don’t know Highland, how great
our school is
give everyone
a chance to have a voice and be able to speak their dreams
make people
think about how their life is
share voices
spread
creativity and let everyone have a voice
share a
positive message
inspire people
and make them feel good
get people to
understand about their life and see what’s important
get to know
more people
be able to
contribute something that can be life-changing;
make us think
a little more about long-term goals and is another way to bring our community
together
help people
open up as well as me
bring more
maturity to our school
help people
speak their voices
be a part of
something.
Why are students excited about this project?
I am excited
about this because gets our mind off of things that stress us out.
I want to be
heard and hear everybody else.
I believe we
will be making people open their minds…
I am excited
about this project because everyone needs to be a part of something.
Maybe people
will write the same things on the wall and people will know they aren’t alone,
that there are other people like them.
It’ll be such a great feeling for other people to know
my goal and something that I’m really excited to do and also able to see what
other peoples’ dreams are too!
This is how
community inspires creativity! Look at all these reasons, all these heartfelt
reasons spoken with emotions and desires. And people think that teenagers can’t
have deep conversations about life.
Maybe they just need more opportunities?
I ended up including the entire list in our "Policy" under purpose. How could anyone pick and choose, water it down? Not me. No way! All their voices deserve to be shared. That will lead to another entry!
Merci mes enfants pour vos voix, pour vos idées, pour votre croyance que
vous pouvez faire une différence chez nous, et dans le monde! Vous êtes
formidables !
This is why I
teach!
