Lessons Learned

I am not sure how it happened.   I am not sure when it happened.     A stroke of a principal's pencil assigned me to same class as Dale “Wiz” Wisinayi way back in 1970.    Wiz was my first true friend.    As we focus on improving student achievement, we sometimes need to be reminded that what may matter most to our students are the relationships they share with friends they make at school.    Dale and I are more than friends.   He is my brother. Friendships are formed when students share common interests.   Dale and I shared two common interests.   We are one of the greatest comedy duos ever and we were always looking for a way to make a buck. I am not sure what teachers thought when saw are names on their roster.   I think it went like this, "Dale is a nice hard working boy. Oh no! he is with Oxley."   Dale was the straight man to the Wiz and Ox comedy team. ...

Finding the Light Darkness descends upon our classrooms every time we see a hungry child, a struggling child,   a child without family support and especially when we see a child experiencing loss.   A school can be a dark and dreary place filled with hopelessness. Teachers must be born with an extra dose of seeing the light when so many others just see obstacles, darkness and hopelessness.   Many children wearing baggy clothes and tattered shoes go unnoticed.   A teacher sees that hungry child with an aching heart and smiles. A smile shields the teacher’s breaking heart. The teacher’s heart pumps a little faster and a caring teacher fights back tears because no child should struggle.   Every child is a gift and their hearts should be free of pain. Fortunately, a greater hand than us touches our school.   The greater hand guides children through the darkness to find the teachers along their path.   The teacher smiles and places a hand on the s...