Kids First!

My childhood home was always littered with posters screaming this phrase in vibrant colors, still leaning in a corner after the most recent bond election. Dad was a superintendent, and his philosophy was always, always "Kids First!" In planning, he put kids first. In finances, he put kids first. In teaching and coaching and mentoring, Dad put kids first. 

Because it is the right thing to do.

Now that Dad is retired and spends his sunny days putting fishing first, I take up the mantra myself and hope to live it daily and share it as he did. Yes, it took me a while to come to this conclusion. I always thought I was doing it, actually, but early on I needed to feel in control. I was young. I was scared. I knew classroom management gone awry could be the death of any actual learning. So I chose control. This meant that I scripted every moment of class and drove the bus forward no matter my riders. I structured my days down to the minute and sent students home with pounds of homework. We stuck to the set schedule with little interruption, and we barreled ahead, despite the teens I left at the last stop or the wrong stop or their original stop. I enjoyed my job on most days, and my kids seemed to mostly enjoy me. But I feel oh so guilty for the classes, semesters, and years I forgot to put those kids first. 

And then, things changed. Not sure exactly when it was or why. I just knew I needed to be different. I gave the kids some control, only a fraction at first, then slightly more. Now, they are the bus drivers in my room. They select their reading, their writing, their thinking. They plan their steps and their parameters. Sometimes it looks like complete chaos! Sometimes - just sometimes - it looks like learning.

I wish, though, that I could comfort those educators who are still gripping that steering wheel so firmly. I'd like to peel their white knuckles away, offering my hand for guidance instead. I watch them plan and plot, and I admire their focus and organization and drive. But what makes me sad is the part when their students are lost or bored or frustrated. Sadder yet is the teacher who is red-faced, fuming because the kids didn't do, read, or write.

"They are lazy!"
"They won't do anything!"
"They are so rude!"

Maybe they are. They can be. But sometimes, we put them in situations where what we get is their defense mechanisms in return for what we gave them. Maybe we performed the manageable tasks in class and then sent them home with the hard tasks to do on their own. And maybe that was the part when they really weren't lazy but needed a guide, a coach. I don't believe that our sports coaches assign their teams new plays to figure out at home when they aren't together or that they expect their teams to do only the easy drills together. In the classroom, we shouldn't do the same. At home, let them read and explore, practice and write. In class, work through the challenges and the new concepts. Approach as a team. Work cooperatively. Lead.

Yes, there will be challenges. And every class and semester and year will be different. Luckily, we are trained problem solvers! We are the sleuths, always finding the right solution for the current mystery. Each student is a mystery, an episode to watch and wonder --- and to solve. To solve, though, by guiding and mentoring and even giving some control. It doesn't mean that our lesson we love was a failure or that perfect unit is a flop. It means that we put our kids first and let them drive our classes, and that we create those lessons and units - and ultimately love and respect - together.

Kids First! Always.