I learned a lot through my first ever trip to the Big Apple. I observed many common practices that if implemented in the world of education, would change the way students, teachers, and administrators feel about the school experience.
The hotel where we stayed was located right off Times Square and shared the block with several Broadway show venues. Each night as we were walking the block, I noticed audience members standing outside of the building after the show waiting for the performers to exit. Rather than moving on to their next Big Apple adventure, these folks waited for quite some time to shower the performers with cheers and applause for their performance when they finally emerged. What if we did this for students who had given it their all at the end of long week, or for teachers as they emerged from their classrooms after facilitating an outstanding learning situation? What if we did this for administrators after they have spent hours, days, weeks, and even months developing plans to improve district performance or implement a new initiative? Would celebrating these educational "performances" not give those in the trenches the motivation to come back each day and do it all again, just as it does those performing on Broadway?
In addition to my introduction to Broadway traditions I was introduced to another fascinating and complex system...The New York City subway system. Let me tell you, it's not as easy as you'd think. There are maps and guides to help you determine how to get where you are going; however, there are both local trains and express trains and with several options to meet one end result, it's rather difficult to know which train to select until you get used to it. While I am VERY directionally challenged, my husband is typically masterful at navigating us around the cities we visit. Imagine my surprise when we ended up in Brooklyn one night instead of back in Times Square as we intended. (Side note: Brooklyn is one place we had been advised not to go to at night.) Oops! We spent the next 30 minutes hopping on and off trains and transferring until we were able to navigate our way back to our hotel. While it was incredibly frustrating to not know for sure where we would end up, the underground adventure we were on was well worth it due to the experienced gained. After that, we were subway masters. In my position at school, I see many teachers and administrators find themselves in the same situation Scott and I found ourselves. They have expectations set for where they need to go in regard to the implementation of initiatives and tools (including technology), but many seem to get frustrated when they cannot reach there expectation destination via the quickest/shortest route. Some even try to ignore that these changes/expectations are happening. You've gotta get home, people! What if instead of getting bogged down with the stress of ourselves to these educational destinations, we all embraced the adventure of reaching our goals; how much we are learning, the baby steps of change? We will get there eventually (where ever "there" might be). It is up to us how we will feel along the way. Feeling scared or anxious about ending up in the right place sure won't get us "there" any faster.
And then there was the communication factor. Communicating with folks in New York City can be a challenge in and of its self. Did you know there are actually guides online that tell you how to do this properly? Wish I would've paid more attention to those. What I found is that although language can be a barrier in city that is made up of people of so many different nationalities, there is one universal truth. Most people want to talk and are willing (and even excited) to exchange with perfect strangers so long as you are willing to initiate the conversation. During our time in the city we met and spoke with people from around the globe, including England, Syria, Canada, Mexico, Spain, various U.S. states, and yes, even many very friendly New Yorkers. That was by far the best part of the trip. Discussing the customs, experiences, and viewpoints of people from around the world and watching as them as they took what we said in and to heart was incredible. What if we allowed for that kind of communication in schools? Would students and educators, educators and parents, and educators and educators not be better off if we all listened (really listened) with an accepting ear a little bit more? If we listened to those we interact with every day as attentively as we do those we just meet, would that not provide clarity and result in us being more tolerant of our differences in opinion?
Needless to say I loved my NYE trip to NYC. That short trip provided a lifetime of take-aways for me. (I'm not saying I don't need/want to go back, Scott! ;) I hope that after reading this you will see why we need to put a little of the "Big Apple" back into education!
In addition to my introduction to Broadway traditions I was introduced to another fascinating and complex system...The New York City subway system. Let me tell you, it's not as easy as you'd think. There are maps and guides to help you determine how to get where you are going; however, there are both local trains and express trains and with several options to meet one end result, it's rather difficult to know which train to select until you get used to it. While I am VERY directionally challenged, my husband is typically masterful at navigating us around the cities we visit. Imagine my surprise when we ended up in Brooklyn one night instead of back in Times Square as we intended. (Side note: Brooklyn is one place we had been advised not to go to at night.) Oops! We spent the next 30 minutes hopping on and off trains and transferring until we were able to navigate our way back to our hotel. While it was incredibly frustrating to not know for sure where we would end up, the underground adventure we were on was well worth it due to the experienced gained. After that, we were subway masters. In my position at school, I see many teachers and administrators find themselves in the same situation Scott and I found ourselves. They have expectations set for where they need to go in regard to the implementation of initiatives and tools (including technology), but many seem to get frustrated when they cannot reach there expectation destination via the quickest/shortest route. Some even try to ignore that these changes/expectations are happening. You've gotta get home, people! What if instead of getting bogged down with the stress of ourselves to these educational destinations, we all embraced the adventure of reaching our goals; how much we are learning, the baby steps of change? We will get there eventually (where ever "there" might be). It is up to us how we will feel along the way. Feeling scared or anxious about ending up in the right place sure won't get us "there" any faster.
And then there was the communication factor. Communicating with folks in New York City can be a challenge in and of its self. Did you know there are actually guides online that tell you how to do this properly? Wish I would've paid more attention to those. What I found is that although language can be a barrier in city that is made up of people of so many different nationalities, there is one universal truth. Most people want to talk and are willing (and even excited) to exchange with perfect strangers so long as you are willing to initiate the conversation. During our time in the city we met and spoke with people from around the globe, including England, Syria, Canada, Mexico, Spain, various U.S. states, and yes, even many very friendly New Yorkers. That was by far the best part of the trip. Discussing the customs, experiences, and viewpoints of people from around the world and watching as them as they took what we said in and to heart was incredible. What if we allowed for that kind of communication in schools? Would students and educators, educators and parents, and educators and educators not be better off if we all listened (really listened) with an accepting ear a little bit more? If we listened to those we interact with every day as attentively as we do those we just meet, would that not provide clarity and result in us being more tolerant of our differences in opinion?
Needless to say I loved my NYE trip to NYC. That short trip provided a lifetime of take-aways for me. (I'm not saying I don't need/want to go back, Scott! ;) I hope that after reading this you will see why we need to put a little of the "Big Apple" back into education!
Image Source:
KyariTheKonverseKidd
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