The function of education is to teach one to
think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that
is the goal of true education.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was a little quiet on Facebook and Twitter the
past couple of weeks because I was busy planning and hosting the Hunterdon
County Education Association annual retirement dinner, which took place on May
22nd. Retirement dinners are bittersweet because while we celebrate and honor
decades of service and professional excellence, we also say goodbye to many
years of experience that, given the current education 'reform' climate, may
never be replaced.
Children must be taught how to think, not what
to think.
~ Margaret Mead
Within the first 6 months of Christie's first
term the number of public school
employees who filed for retirement almost doubled that of
the previous year. While I don't have statistics on the past 4 years, I have
personally spoken to many retiring educators who are simply fed up. A special
education teacher with whom I had the honor to work for 10 years, who worked
miracles with our most challenging children for over 20 years, told me that
while she didn't want to retire, she could no longer subject her students to
education 'reform'. Another is taking an early retirement, sacrificing part of
her pension, because she just can't take it anymore. This is how we 'attract
and retain the best teachers'? This is how we make a great public education
system better? We make educators' jobs so unbearable that they leave rather
than inflict damaging policies on their students?
A teacher is a compass that activates the
magnets of curiosity, knowledge and wisdom in pupils.
~ Ever Garrison
For the table decor and program I searched the
Internet for quotes about education—not necessarily about teachers because not
everyone who works in education is a certified teacher, but all of us who work
in schools every day—whether administrative assistant, library clerk,
custodian, cafeteria aide, maintenance worker, bus driver or teaching
assistant—teach them in some way, shape or form.
If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you
are planning for a decade, plant a tree; if you are planning for a lifetime,
educate people.
~ Chinese Proverb
Some of the quotes brought tears to my eyes
because of the author's profound understanding of what education, learning and
knowledge really are. Their words are diametrically opposed to ed 'reform'
speak. Rest assured, Socrates didn't care about 'accountability'; Jean Piaget
knew 'churn' was something one only did to make butter; and William Arthur Ward
knew the real definition of 'rigor' means 'strictness, severity, rigidity, or
harshness, as in dealing with people'—not something one would want in a school.
And as for 'transformational change'? Well, I'm sure John Dewey's definition
was very different than Bill Gates'.
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
~ John Dewey
This is who we are. This is what we do. Never
forget it.
The following is my introduction speech. The
quotes I put on the tables and in the program are interspersed throughout this post. Remember them when you are at
your wit’s end, when you’re struggling with VAMs or SGOs or SGPs or test prep
or evaluations. Print them out and hang them in your classroom, your faculty
room, by the copier—heck—on the front door of your school! Mail them to elected
officials and board of education members. That other stuff that disrespects
students and educators is not why we became educators. This is why:
The secret in education lies in respecting the
student.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here is my speech:
"Good evening everyone and welcome to the
Hunterdon County Education Association 2014 Retirement Dinner. Tonight we
celebrate a combined total of over 500 years of education excellence in
Hunterdon County. Let that number sink in… 500 years. That’s half a millennium
of experience we are losing. A little over 500 years ago one of the greatest
artists who ever lived, Michelangelo, was at the height of his creativity
carving the David, the Pieta and all his other great works. He would look at
each block of marble and see the sculpture trapped inside.
In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.
"I’m sure writer Joseph Addison was
thinking of him when he said,
What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul.
"Tonight’s honorees, whether an Extra
Special Person (ESP) or classroom teacher, are like Michelangelo in that you
unlock the work of art that is every child you encounter.
"That ability is a gift. It cannot be
manufactured. It can’t be tested or ranked or corporatized. The ability to work
with children, to inspire, to motivate, to teach is a calling. It is an art,
like any other and yet it is like no other because while Michelangelo created
some of the greatest works of art mankind has ever known, we create the future.
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make
them think.
~ Socrates
"How will the future judge us? 500 years
from now, how will America look back on this dark moment in history? Well, if
history does indeed repeat itself, then my friends, we are on the brink of
another Renaissance. As the Middle Ages gave way to the likes of Michelangelo,
da Vinci, Shakespeare, Galileo, Copernicus, Columbus and Magellen, we are on
the brink of a resurrection of our profession.
Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
~ Jean Piaget
"It must happen; it will happen because we
will make it happen! The quotes you see on your tables tonight are why. Next to
being a parent, education is the second most important job there is. If you
Google quotes about venture capitalism or politics or oh, I don’t know—dog
groomers—you won’t find any by Socrates, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Albert
Einstein because what we do really does change the world!
"So sit back and enjoy the evening. You
truly have earned it!
Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is
inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts; it is acquiring
understanding.
~ William Arthur Ward
The human mind is the greatest example of
infinity on this very finite planet. It cannot be confined to box forever; it
cannot have an endless stream of stuff shoved into it without a creative output or push-back.
Eventually it—we—will break free. We will succeed in ending this ed ‘reform’ madness
because it is diametrically opposed to what our profession is all about, and our students will consciously and unconsciously demand an end to it—they already are here in NJ. Teaching is an art, and no one
understood that better than one of my heroes—one of the greatest artists and teachers who ever lived:
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will
take you everywhere.
~ Albert Einstein
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