Making Miracles

Along with many of you, I am stirring restlessly on the evening before the start of a new school year. I thought I was being creative when I began to pen "Twas the Night Before School". One line in, I turned to Google, thinking Someone has to have done this before... And, of course, they did.

In today's world, nearly all knowledge is accessible in a few clicks. To conceive an original idea is much less probable given the widespread, immediate, and public transmission of information and text via the internet - no longer do we need to wait for information or ideas to be published and transmitted between cultures, across professions, etc. (Much less memorize mountains of facts!).

It was easy to concede that my moment of inspiration was anything but original. But, even after searching and finding an already-penned poem about the night before school, I contemplated creating my own version, too. Before I continued though, I paused to ask myself, What would be the purpose?

Living in a connected, digital world beckons the question of purpose much more than it is asked.

I didn't pen my own version of the poem because my purpose was not to sort through the anxiousness of the night before school - after eight years, I don't really get the jitters anymore. My purpose, however, was to articulate the tiny wonder that is teaching - the reason I can't sleep. As teachers, I believe that our work is indeed the stuff of miracles. And, as much as education policy or internal politics may give us reason to vent, I truly believe what was already articulated for me when I googled my not-so-original idea:

"...they cannot take our voices, our ideas, our knowledge or relationships away,
so happy back-to-school to all, may learning and leadership be our mainstay."

Just because an idea isn't original, doesn't mean it isn't powerful. But as teachers, we must ask What is my purpose? What do I want students to learn by doing this? We must get beyond the standard, the jargon, and the test. We must answer this question truly and authentically. And when we do, miracles will happen.

'Twas the Night Before School (student version)

'Twas the Night Before School (teacher version)