#45

I turned 45 this summer. It should be a big deal to turn 45, ½ way to 50, the idea of living more already than I have left. But honestly if I haven’t learned anything in the last year and half, I’ve learned that every day on this side of the grass is a good day.  And 45 didn’t have some crazy effect on me.

On my birthday, I read a terrible, horrible no good article on schools in South Carolina. It made me sad. It made me mad. It made me wonder how folks who have no clue what we do each day could write such horrible things about schools. So on that day I decided each week until my 46^th birthday I would write about one good thing we are doing in education. I figured on my 46^th birthday I would publish my 46 things that are right in education. Yet, last week, for many reasons, I didn’t have time to make my weekly submission to my list (hence why the list will have 46 things rather than 52).

I entered school today with a heavy heart. It was a tough weekend attending two funerals. Saying goodbye to a staff member was hard. It was a lot harder than I thought. It was so cold this morning. When I arrived at school it was clear but about 100 steps before I made it to the door, the clouds opened and a monsoon started-and ended as quickly as it began. Carline started with a car with a dead battery, two safety patrol were sick and not on duty, and I forgot my umbrella while directing traffic. When I made it into the office I had an upset parent on the phone. Seriously before 8am and I was not happy. So I pulled out my journal and decided I needed an entry in my list of things that are so right in education.

I realized I needed to share today’s entry with you all because maybe, just maybe you needed to hear something we do right also:

#16.  Education isn’t just about academics. We work so hard to ensure that each student is on grade level. We talk about reading levels, interventions, critical thinking, writing skills, RTI, and special services all the time. We want every student to reach mastery of standards, but what we focus on more than ever before is the social and emotional well-being of our students. In our school, education is not simply about feeding the mind, but it is also about feeding the heart and the soul. Many educators I surround myself with feel that if we fail our students emotionally, then we have not succeeded.  I wish for every student to  score “exceeds expectation” on every tests we give them. But more than anything I want students who say kind things, sit with someone who is sitting alone, offer to help, are friends to the lonely, encourage each other, share, look for the good in others, and offer a smile when it is needed. So what is right with education, it is right that we understand our education the heart is just as important as educating the mind.

And about the time I finished a precious 1^st grade came into my office and shyly walked into my office and said, “Hey Dr. Rose. Do you need a hug?” And people wonder why my office is in the middle of the school? Why yes, I’ll take that hug.