Educational Discourse

Basketball season ended for my Sr. Lady Mustangs this weekend as we lost at Regional Playoffs. The girls played well enough to win but, like all other sports, there must be a team that loses. The shots just wouldn’t drop. We played in two entertaining games and really did show that we were a good team. If things had gone right, the ball had dropped, we could have easily been the team going to provincials. The great thing was that the girls played very well, didn’t give up and didn’t get nasty. The were champions even though they lost.

For 7 of the team, this was their last year. They were a bit upset with losing, shed some tears but we ended up having fun. We spent a great evening at a B&B with only us there. The house is gorgeous, three floors of beautiful wood. We played cards, watched some videos, talked and just had a very good evening together. The way it should be after spending so much time together. I know that for the next 3 years, we will be in the rebuilding mode with just enough girls to keep the program alive. If we were going to make a run for it, this was the year.

The great thing is that I’ve watched these girls grow over the last 3 years, maturing into a team that worked together and learned that it wasn’t all about winning. We could have fun and lose. In fact, that whole idea drove a few teams crazy as we would have fun, laugh and joke even when we weren’t winning. We learned how to enjoy the entire game, not just the score.

For me, these girls have been my conduit into the school. I’ve learned so much about the students, their likes and dislikes and what they want. They would tell me about so many things – with idea that what went on the road, stayed on the road. It was a great way for them to express their thoughts and feelings about school in a non-threatening environment. As I became accustom to listening to them talk about the various “happenings” I realized that school needed to be much more like this and not a place where two sides squared off each day, one handing out knowledge the other hopefully catching some of it. We needed to have a school where the interaction between the people created a relationship of learners.

As my last post indicates, we ‘ve run into a bit of a snag with a group of students who still remain within the us/them mentality with parents who support the same idea. We are not working together to build a community of learners but instead trying to get students “through” school so that they can begin their journey into the “real” world. This is completely frustrating since I’m beginning to realize that school can be more real world than ever before if we can but move away to a synergetic relationship instead of one-way relationship.

As I final have time to look at prioritizing my To Do list, which is no longer a list but a novellette, I realize that it is up to me to place the seeds that will grow the relationships. As leader of the school, it will be my reactions and interactions that will guide the staff and students as we try to remold our school community. I know that it will not be easy but, like the group of girls that grew into a team, I know that to be successful, there will need to be some movement by all involved and, for my part, I will be able to show them some skills and techniques but it will be up to the people involved, parents/students/staff, to make the necessary changes to go from a group to a team. And it must include the students. They will be the most important part of the mix and they must have real power within the mix otherwise it will not work.

My first step will be my presentation to the students during a “Get A Life” Day which will focus on transitioning from highschool to the job market or secondary edcuation. We are bringing in different people to address the needs that were identified by the students as being concerns for them. I’ll let you know how it goes!