“Sy, okay. I know this is crazy, but hear me out.”

“Okay, Kat, shoot. What ya got?”

“Well. I want to start over.”

“On your speech?”

“Yeah.”

“Not feeling it?”

“Nope. Not anymore. I keep reading it, and I am boring myself. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Okay. What ya got in mind.”

“I have no idea.”

Yesterday was the last in-class day for periods 1, 3, 5 to work on their Be a Voice speeches (we’re on a block schedule for testing). Kat’s in my 5th period class, and she was essentially done with her speech on the affordability (unaffordability) of college, which was well-researched and written, relevant and timely. and minus a few polishes here and there, done. She was done, and so I was a bit surprised that after all that she has put into it, she wanted to abandon it.And so, I–flexible to a fault–let her.

One and most important, it’s her work, her voice, and if she’s not feeling it, then it is not my place to stand in her way. Two, she does the work, and I know that even at this late hour, she will dig in and get the work done. She was even willing to again go through the performance/feedback checkpoints, willing to do it all. But I told her no. She’s already demonstrated that she can meet the required standards. I am not going to make her go through the steps again just to go through the steps. I told her just to go for it, to trust her instincts, and to come to me if she needed help. With that, she and I nodded and smiled our agreement, and she went back to her desk. Within five minutes, she announced her new topic, and by the end of the last hour, she had drafted her next speech. Her new topic? The horror of homework. Can’t wait to hear it.

What I love about this interaction with Kat is that in the end it was not about getting done. It was about creating something that she was happy with, something that she was proud of, something that she did because she wanted to, not because she had to. So many of our kids’ experiences in school are just about completing the transaction. But learning should, learning can be so much more. We have to move beyond done. Done is a place of compliance. It’s the doing that measures the commitment, that fosters the growth. And while not all of my kids have moved beyond done as Kat has, I want to believe that many have, for they have had the freedom and the responsibility to do so all year long. Man, I am gonna miss this group of learners next year.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…wrap up speech work.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.