I admit that it's all my fault!

 It's 1991, a young man fresh from Teacher's College decided to interview back in his own home town, an interview conducted by three of his old principals. Pedagogy was not the topic of question since the triumvirate was interested in what has transpired since he left/graduated their circle of influence. In the end, a contract position was offered but the impression of caring had already conjured the question, "Why are they even interested in what I've been up to?" The simple answer? That's the way educators are wired ... that's why they choose education ... It's their fault that I chose to join their ranks.

That was the first of a million lessons that I have been blessed to experience along the pathway of teaching . It really boils down to the relationships that are built with the students in my charge. In his book "Life in Classrooms", Philip Jackson states elementary teachers have 200 to 300 exchanges with students every hour (between 1200-1500 a day), most of them unplanned and unpredictable which means teachers make decisions in the moment. I am sure that the numbers are lower, but just as relevant, in a secondary classroom. The nature of these decisions cannot be planned for because they are based on choice, interaction, and reaction. Doing the math, this means high school teachers could make 1000 per day x 190 teaching days = 190 000 judgment calls, based on their experience and expertise, in a school year. Teachers use their experience and knowledge to make these split-second decisions in a classroom, all the while keeping 20+ students engaged in learning. They have to decide how to defuse a situation, encourage a situation, manage a student who is sad or confused or sick or tired or hungry. Those decisions change lives. The media and government have put education in a negative spotlight, questioning teacher motivation and salaries, insinuating they are selfish and lazy. Many teachers use their own money to make sure the learning environment is the best it can be. Parental expectations and demands have increased, expecting teachers be responsible for not only the learning that happens inside their classrooms walls, but also for the messes that spill over outside of it. This means teachers are spending their time before school, planning time and after school managing social-emotional learning as well as academic learning. The "elephant in the room" is each time something is taken away, the vast majority of teachers find a solution, often at their own personal expense, and THAT is the problem. By simply taking on the challenge without raising awareness, simply deflects, and Joe Public comes to expect a status quo, even though it no longer exists.

IMHO, teachers have been silent for too long. 

Having a heart for the kids ... because teachers are not in it for the money ... we have a system full of people who will do whatever it takes to educate students. The increase in demands results in an increase in teacher burnout, creating a huge problem in this country, and teachers have let this happen because they are passionate about helping children. The media covers negative experiences and sensational stories, but there are thousands more positive stories that go unreported about teacher selflessness blessed upon the kids. This imbalance prompts Joe Public to label everything as the teacher’s fault. Personally, having over 30 years experience in the educational system, I have to say I have had enough. I have a responsibility to the system and my colleagues to confess that there are indeed many things happening within education THAT ARE MY FAULT:

Not my student but
the same attitude

It's MY FAULT for Building A Future

Many years back I had a tough kid (he has not been the only one, however) that was particularly difficult, day and day out. TBH, I tossed and turned on a number of nights, thanks largely to frustrations on how to reach this young soul. As the year progressed, I learned more about his home life, its challenges, volatility, and how he carried that baggage to school each day. Academics took a back seat to helping him search for meaning and awareness in his life, and the gleam of self-awareness in his eyes slowly grew in intensity. The school year came to its ultimate end and he successfully achieved the necessary competency to graduate, walked proudly across the stage and disappeared into life. I am embarrassed to say that, since this was before the proliferation of social media, as each day that passed, our joint struggles faded from my memory. 

Barrie is a bigger sized city that still maintains a small town feel, thanks largely to people like me who grow up here, explore the world for a time, then return here to raise a family. As a result of this trend, I regularly encounter former students, many years later, and am blessed with a 10 minute re-acquaintance chat. At a local grocery store one afternoon, a familiar voice behind me quietly spoke, "Excuse me. Are you Mr Porter?" Turning, I was face to face with my tough kid, a number of years older, holding the hand of a cherubic chestnut-haired cutie. The resulting conversation revealed a young man who wanted me to know how he was doing, how thankful he was for the time I had invested all those years ago, and confessing that he attributed some of the blame for that to me. He insisted that it was my fault. Cue the waterworks and the Grinch-like heart growth.

His was one of hundreds of interactions I have had over the years that, if you extrapolate to include the multitude of teachers I have worked with, results in possibly tens of thousands positive stories that never made the media. And they are all our fault!

Not my students but very much
how a YBK gets created

It's MY FAULT for Building Self-Confidence
We have an epidemic in education right now with classrooms increasingly filled with students who’s "go to" strategy is to quit. They work well until they come to something they do not know and then they simply quit, despite having the ability and the understanding of the concept. What they are lacking is the self-confidence to move forward. I can recall a number of students I have interacted with where I spent our time together putting them in situations that would both build confidence and offer a chance to practice resilience. There were good days and bad days, but they wanted experiences and tasks that were simple and easy, and if they felt it was too hard, they adopted the stance that it was safer to not try than to try and fail. 

One such situation that stands out involved a young lady who chose to take the Yearbook elective I taught at Central. I struggled with understanding why she chose the course as she initially refused to learn how to take usable photos, how to use the computer software we used to create the pages, and how to effectively sell the Yearbook to the rest of the students. Although she regularly resisted early on, I had a gut-feeling that there was more to it, and I softly prodded her to accept more and more responsibility, eventually breaking her defenses down to where she accepted an active role. As time proceeded, as it always does, she displayed a growing self-confidence, even actively joining in on discussions about which features should be included in this page or that. Her most complicated page choice, the one with the most possibility for failure, she decided to complete solo, something she would never choose in the beginning. Once completed, we conferenced about it, and the look of accomplishment and pride that she displayed was astonishing. She still had self-doubt, but she was trying hard to master it. When the books arrived at the school the following June, she was one of the first to pick her copy up, and I watched her hurriedly flip to that page. The smile that slowly crept across her face as she admired the fruits of her toil said all that was needed. It's my fault that she gained self-confidence enabling her to reveal a piece of herself through the design and publication of her page. It was my fault that she grew in resilience, persistence, creativity and competence. It’s my fault she felt successful, proud and confident in herself. She is just one of hundreds of young people I have worked with.

It's MY FAULT for Building a Love of Learning
If you recall, I have been blessed with the responsibility of students from grade one through to grade twelve, a blessing not a lot of my colleagues have experienced. With such a range in ages, there are hundreds of stories about students who fell in love with learning and successfully plied that enthusiasm to subsequent challenges and situations throughout their educational careers. As you also may recall, I have been transparent about choosing teaching so I could support myself and my family as a coach here in Canada. I have just as many stories about former athletes who developed a passion for the activity that we shared. A love of learning is not limited to academic pursuits. 

Barrie Central's Taylor Paris

One such situation that I am particularly proud of involved a gifted young athlete that went on to achieve goals that likely began as no more than hazy images of a long night's sleep. This young boy was the youngest of his family, the last in a line of gifted athletes who were the backbones of numerous successful teams at Central. Although already well known for his athletic escapades, he chose to try something new when he arrived at Red Storey Field one spring afternoon for Junior rugby tryouts. He quickly engendered himself to his coaches with his determination, grit and passion but, to these old eyes, he was just another gifted athlete. As coach of the Senior team, blessed with the talents of his siblings, I surmised that he would have a very good high school career ... I sooo missed the mark!

Our paths crossed again when he tried out successfully for Team Ontario, a team I was coaching. As with so many elite sides, the management team had to determine the best way to utilize the talent in our charge, meaning that many players were asked to learn new positions. This young man initially resisted the change, since it was significant moving from flanker to wing, but eventually accepted his fate. Kudos to him for quickly embracing it, immersing himself in the required learning, and capturing the attention of coaches at the national level. His drive to learn and improve was incredible.

Upon his return to Central, he set himself to the task of learning as much as was possible about rugby, its strategies, core skills, required fitness, laws and leadership skills. This active decision resulted in even more attention from elite programs, even more learning, and culminated in a rugby exchange to the UK. Upon his return from overseas, it was readily apparent to all that he had decided that rugby would be the vehicle he would employ to change his life.

Once he joined Central's Senior program, all of the energy and effort he had employed made him a natural leader amongst his peers, and the expectations of many seemed to rest squarely on his shoulders. This, of course, was completely unfair as a 16 year-old, but he embraced the challenge and set himself to the task of being the best that our program had ever seen. One of his most endearing qualities was his humility. He owned his successes but also his defeats, accepting harsh criticism as an opportunity to become better, both as a player and as a person ... AND he performed! So well, in fact, that he set records for being the youngest player to represent Canada when our national program flew him around the world playing 7's and brought him to the World Cup in New Zealand as a part of the 15's team. He has since been a mainstay in Canada's national program up to, and including, the recent World Cup in Japan.

If all of this wasn't impressive enough for you, he has successfully earned a living playing rugby in both Scotland and France, most recently for Castres Olympique in the French top division. All of this a direct result of his thirst for knowledge and willingness to make sacrifices to obtain that knowledge. I am partly responsible for creating a lifelong learner who developed through a love of rugby. Although many of my fellow Centralites and Canadians stepped forward to help, it’s my fault (partly) he has found joy and love in a professional rugby career. It is my fault (partly) that he has grown into a selfless, steadfast, generous, and compassionate young man. Go ahead, blame me. I can handle it!

I am no longer willing to stand by and let the educational system be quietly attacked. The pervading negativity and systematic destruction of that same system I have loved for 30 years will no longer be tolerated. I confess that it is my fault students succeeded, found passions, developed skill sets, learned problem-solving skills, found confidence, performed random acts of kindness, recognized global problems, considered someone else’s point of view, and a million other things. I chose teaching and coaching because it is a gift I can share with hundreds of families to create a positive ripple in my community. I don’t ask for much in return, but it is high time we teachers are are finally blamed for all of the great things that have happened since making the decision to give, give, give, give. We are responsible for so much more than the media portrays or the government announces. The blame lies with us and, dagummit, it's time Joe Public recognizes it!

*I confess that I got the idea for this post from another teacher's blog ... Thanks Ms Rice!