Guest Blog - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Challenge

Travis Barnes, aka, the hubs, has guest blogged for me before. I challenged him last month in a bloggers challenge. And because he won't get his own blog - here he is taking over mine.

What has been your ONE biggest struggle during this school year?

1. My ONE biggest struggle this year has been keeping a positive attitude about the school’s administration. When I started with this school the environment and culture was small and personable - it’s now big and mighty; bureaucratic and formal. This has left me feeling disenfranchised, and I’ve used that word more this year than ever before.  

Share TWO accomplishments that you are proud of from this school year.

1. In contrast with my struggle, I have managed to form an even closer relationship with my students and their families. Every year they feel more like my extended family and my confidence in knowing their goals, ambitions and learning styles is even higher.
2. I’m proud of my “Double Platinum ‘A’ Teacher” status, even though I have mixed feelings about this. My students did the work - not me. I’m proud for them.

What are THREE things that you wish to accomplish before the end of the school year?

This question feels like a stuffy “What are your three measurable objectives for this quarter?” and because I’m so bored of this type of thinking, I’m going to list the far more important things that cannot be measured and put on a #$$@%&! spreadsheet:

1. At the end of the year I’d like every student under my tutelage to have a positive attitude about their accomplishments of the previous year and enthusiasm for the next.
2. I would like to have increased each student’s confidence in themselves and empower them by stressing an internal locus of control.
3. I would also like to get my own internal locus of control in check and not let the administration’s Cohorts, Protocols, Policies, Task Forces and Mandates frustrate me.

Give FOUR reasons why you remain in education in today’s rough culture.

1. Are you kidding me? The culture is rough everywhere. I came directly from a police department, trust me, the grass isn’t greener anywhere else.
2. I genuinely love kids. I think any philosopher must love kids. They see the world better than we do, and it’s so refreshing, fun, insightful and healthy to be around.
3. At the end of the day, this job really matters. How many people, or what percentage, can really say that? And when we are on our death bed, I bet our only wish is that we had invested MORE of ourselves into our students lives.
4. Summers off.

Which FIVE people do you hope will take the challenge of answering these questions?

Sorry I don’t do this type of thing. This has been fun though, so if anyone else wants to do it - you should. This post might paint me a bit like an anti-establishment guy or having a problem with authority, but it’s really not like that at all. Rules have their place until they are no longer useful or until they hinder something of greater importance; after all, God made the sabbath for man, not man for the sabbath.