This blog is dedicated to Maurice Sendak and teachers everywhere who are bringing their school year to a close.

Where The Wild Things Are reminds me of teaching. You might be wondering, how?

Every year we get students like Max who make mischief of one kind and another. I invite you to reflect back over this year and think about your “Max.” What strategies and techniques did you use to help him or her find success and reach their potential? What did you learn about yourself and your teaching from Max?

His mother called him, “WILD THING!” and Max said, “I’LL EAT YOU UP!” So he was sent to bed without eating anything.

That very night in Max’s room a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around…

Every year we plan how to set up our classroom. We plan how to create space for learning. How effective was your classroom arrangement? In what ways did your classroom environment create space for learning? What did you learn about your students and their learning styles?

And an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are. And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said, “BE STILL!” and tamed them with the magic trick of starring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all the wild things.

So what was your trick? In what ways did you push your students to do their personal best? How did you reach your students' individual needs? What do you want to keep in mind as you begin to plan for next year?

“And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!"

What were some of your most memorable lessons? How do you know those lessons impacted student learning? What were some things that surprised you about your kids this year?

“Now stop!” Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.

But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go- we’ll eat you up- we love you so!” And Max said, “No!” The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.

As your year comes to a close and you wave good-bye to your students, take time to reflect on your accomplishments. In what ways did you impact student achievement? How have you grow as an educator? What do you want to be mindful of as you begin your summer vacation and prepare for next year?

 


Bullying behaviors.  

We know them as daily and lamentable interpersonal events.  We can recall moments of being observers, and perhaps even participants.  We may remember Alex’s peers snickering behind his back because he was quirky and “just weird.”  Or, the cool girls looking down on Maria because she didn’t dress as well as they did.  We recall David’s lack of social status as being painfully obvious to everyone in the neighborhood, especially him.  Our peers sitting at the lunch table and spreading stories they suspected weren’t true about Kristen.  But because they were quickly and awkwardly silent when she entered the room,  she never had the opportunity to contradict the details before word spread.  Perhaps we remember Andre getting mocked daily because his family had different customs, traditions, and beliefs than the “popular group.”

We remember name calling.  Taunting.  The exertion of will and power.  

If you don’t remember these sorts of events, look closer.  Because, I’m not talking about children.

I’m describing us.  You know, the role models that children are supposed to strive to become.

In fact, I’m tired of children being asked to be better than us, when generations of bullying children have become bullying adults.  However,  we have new and whitewashed names for the phenomenon, such as,  “Politics,” “The Water Cooler,”  “Tabloids,” “Business, ” or “Reality Television.” I would assert that the typical adult breakroom can be more destructive than a high school cafeteria.In our world it is perfectly acceptable to gossip about others.  To tear them down.  To roll our eyes behind their backs.  To not find solutions to differences by focusing on thoughts, not the people behind them.  To insult, rather than debate.  To excessively belittle an opposing team’s fan at a sporting event, in front of a thousands of children’s eyes.  It is normal to have an overheated confrontation in a parking lot, a stop light, or a checkout lane.  And, often, the loudest cries of, “He cut!” come from the parking lot of the school, not the hallways.

Why? Because, we’re old enough to believe in our perceptiveness about others.  In short, we think we’re right.  

Never mind the irony that roughly 80% of us believe we’re better than average.

In essence, we’re asking children to ignore what children see all around them. 

Sanctioned bullying. 

We tailgate to make the car in front of us go the speed we would prefer.  We name call and ridicule people through syndicated media programs, rather than critiquing their ideas.  We create celebrities and then relish in their fall.  We gossip.  We slander.  We intimidate.  We’re asking the impossible from our children: do as you’re told, not as you see. 

Make no mistake, bullying is a legitimate problem, and many adults are doing their best to counter the culture I describe here, but few reading this will identify themselves as contributors to the problem.  

The stories we hear about children being looked down on, humiliated, or made to feel second rate, are heartbreaking.  But, at what point do we stop calling it bullying?  It seems to me it’s sometime around when they’re old enough to vote.

What a coincidence.

Turn on your television.  Sit in a parking lot after school  Watch a session of Congress.  Go to a football game.  Look at magazine covers in the checkout aisle.  Eat in a breakroom.  

It seems as if bullying is a life skill.

I believe kids get a bad rap. Bullying should not occur, and schools need to work diligently to ensure that no child is subjected to such behaviors.  But most children are kind, compassionate, supportive, accepting, and tolerant.  Three year olds might call a passing woman “fat,” because they’re too young to have the requisite filter, not because they’re trying to feel better about themselves.Our children are often amazing citizens who can collaborate, cooperate, and produce.  If you’ve ever seen the fifth grade girl welcome the non-english speaking student, and guide her through her first days, you might not believe it.  If you’ve never seen a group of kindergarteners support a child with Down Syndrome, you don’t know what you’re missing.  

Children can often represent the very behaviors we should emulate, and, it's why I relish working with them, everyday. Contrary to popular beliefs, schools aren’t crawling with bullies who seek to exert their will on others.  They’re full of our kids.  Wonderful kids.

But, be warned.

They grow to be more like us with each passing day.