Lessons Learned

Dear Friends, I have joked for many years that I am going to write a book someday titled "The World According to Oxley." My brother laughs at the thought and my wife just shakes her head. I must agree that the thought of an ADD learning disabled knucklehead like me writing a book would make most of my former teachers fall over in amazement. This blog is dedicated to teachers in my life who saw beyond my ADD and learning disability to nurture me, inspire me, and challenge me, and also to the children who always teach me more than I will ever teach them. I share this blog with you and encourage you to be a contributor. Share this opportunity with your colleagues. Teaching is a challenging calling. It is important that we share the moments when we know we touched the heart and mind of a child. More importantly, it is essential that we share the moments that children make us smile, make us cry, and inspire us. The "World According to Oxley" is based on the simp...

The email read "sir, in about a year you will owe me a steak dinner." I smiled as I read the email because it was from one of my former "knucklehead" students. A "loss boy" so familiar with my office he knew where I put the things I could not fine. He is on my list of 17 students I did not reach. 17 kids, I could not unlock. "Z" was a steering wheel kid. I grabbed that wheel many nights driving home wondering if I could change this kid. Over the past seven years, he would show up at school. Every visit coincided with a suspension from school. My heart would break every time he told me why he was suspended. Fighting, insubordination, and refusal to achieve would lead to additional educational support. I would listen and tell him what he could do to be the person I knew he could be. I don't remember telling "Z" that I would buy him a steak dinner when he graduates from high school. Promising a steak dinner is something I have said at ...