Do Something Beyond

"Why is Clark Kent more interesting? Because we’re all Clark Kent. We all know what it’s like to be ordinary and boring and to want to rip open our shirts and do something beyond ourselves. “ 

– Brad Meltzer

Did I Do Enough? No. (Do we ever?)

When I heard this quote earlier in year  it really stuck with me. Each of us wants to do something to be remembered, to make a difference. It’s important for us, as educators, to take the time to think about the difference we do make, and more importantly the difference we can make in the lives of our students.

I’ve often hear teachers say, “I know I made the difference in at least one of my students’ lives, and probably more, but I just don’t know it” (or something like that). Is that enough? I’ve made it a point in my teaching career, sixteen amazing years ago, to get to know each one of my students and value each one of them as a person. Did I succeed? No. Have there been years, days, or moments where I could have done better? Yes.  

It’s hard to think about the idea of whether I did enough. Did I “do something beyond” myself? I know I tried, and I will try again when I meet the next group of kids. Why? Because they only get to do sixth grade once.

I thought I’d include a few of the more memorable notes/comments I received over the last few days of the year. I still find the hand written notes and pictures from my students and parents to be my favorite. This is not everything, nor is it enough. I know we may never know the impact we make on others, but when we do know, we need to treasure it. I’d like to share some of my treasure with you…

 A Few of My Treasures:

5 of the most powerful words I've ever heard.

I shared my first blog with the student who inspired me to write it. Thanks G!

"most of all you taught me how to really live my life"

Love the "Fault In Our Stars" reference :-)

" I will write my own legacy"

"Thank you for telling me to raise my hand in math"- courage.

We as teachers may not be “super”, but we are all Clark Kents.

Learn The Future - videos to inspire

“I go to school the youth to learn the future” 

-Robert Frost

Changing History

Videos to Inspire Part 1:

What Will YOUR History Be?

The definition I provide my students with for the word “history” is “history is just the stories of people”. This may be a bit off for the teachers who passionately love history, but I’m not one of those. My true passion is in reading and writing, and when asked to teach social studies this year, having to give up something I was truly passionate about, I had to consider how I could make this subject meaningful to my students and meaningful to me. It’s been quite an interesting journey and I’ve learned a lot – but there’s much more to learn.

I decided to start the year off with that definition of history and what history meant to my students. After some discussion, I told my students they will be changing history this year by writing their own stories (Yes, dear reader, there were many confused faces).  

Along with that, I asked my students what their legacy will be and how will they be remembered? Pretty daunting questions for anyone, let alone an 11 or 12 year old. As I get older, I wish that a teacher, parent, or someone in my life had asked me those questions. I don’t think we’re ever too young to consider the impact we can have on others – or too old for that matter. As a teacher, one of the most important things I can do for my students is to give them opportunities to understand the impact they can have on each other, their school, and even the world.

We Are All Clark Kents…

My inspiration for this was a series of TED talks by Brad Meltzer.

The first video we watch very early in the year is Write your story, change history - Brad Meltzer’s engaging TED talk about encouraging us to dream big, work hard, and stay humble. I provide the students with key excerpts from the video and stop frequently to discuss these key points. We then create a product to show what their dreams, goals, and aspirations are and what they will do this year to achieve them…my students are beginning to write their history.

Shutruk-Nakhkhunte

To keep the idea of history as stories going, we watch this video from The Emperor’s Club found at www.wingclips.com ( A great resource for video clips in the classroom).  The clip makes the students think about how will history remember them?  At this point in the year I introduce them to blogging as a tool to reflect and inspire others. I also ask my students to list 101 goals that they have to help them think about what’s out there in the world for them.

What do you want to be forever?

One of the final videos we watched, during Black History Month, related to the subject of Legacy and Our Histories, is another great Tedx Talk by Brad Meltzer called How To Write Your Own Obituary. Despite the “interesting” title, the content of this is extremely powerful- it hits the idea that ordinary people, like you and me, can change the world.  I show the first 11 minutes or so and stop it when Brad asks the audience “How do you want to be remembered?” Can you imagine being told as an eleven year old that you can make an impact on the world?

Footprints

Students have taken this idea to heart. I want my students to realize that what they do now will affect them later. I couldn't be more proud of what my students are achieving this year and I think one of my students says it best in her recent blog post

Success 

Over the last 15 years, I have had the opportunity to watch my students create amazing histories. At the time, I just didn't realize. When we as educators stop to consider the impact we are having on others we can really appreciate our successes.  It’s one of the major reasons I love teaching and helps me to feel the real “success” of teaching. Who knows what history will be written by the 150 awesome kids sitting in front of me this year?