One of my good friends is a speech therapist who has had great success helping young children make life-changing progress in areas many of us take for granted - eating and speaking. She is incredibly upbeat, and genuinely cares about her clients. Adults and children both feel at ease with her instantly.
When I asked about her secret to success in making such great strides with children, most of whom have severe disabilities, she says she simply finds something the child can do well, and then extends that ability to create new functionality. "We build on their strengths," she says.
Most of her clients are younger than school age, but from time to time, she does work with children in the school setting. It is not uncommon for her to be frustrated by her experience at the school. Her frustrations have often made me stop dead in my tracks, and consider things from a whole different point of view.
If you think about the way we address challenges for students, we often do the exact opposite of what my friend does. If a student has trouble with reading, we pull them out for extra work on the very thing they have trouble with. We don't find the hooks - the things they do well - and then build a bridge to those things that are challenges for them. This is actually what families are best at!!! They understand their child's strengths, and have opportunities to help the children build on those strengths. What we must do is help families have the tools to help build the bridges from strengths to challenges, so that the challenges become competencies too!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Extreme Engagement
As we work with schools who are transforming historical culture into a culture of engagement, one of the critical pieces that we stress is that everyone within the community much remained challenged, and must see what they are doing as critical to success for engagement to continue. School set "stretch goals" that move the school out of the comfort zone. Stretch goals with students help them achieve more than they believed was possible.
There is an extraordinary camp in Snowmass, Colorado that has mastered the use of stretch goals and extreme engagement and is seeing incredible results. What makes the camp so exceptional is not the rock climbing, water skiing, rafting, or crossing a river with only a rope at the feet. This camp is unique because of its campers; they have autism.
There is an extraordinary camp in Snowmass, Colorado that has mastered the use of stretch goals and extreme engagement and is seeing incredible results. What makes the camp so exceptional is not the rock climbing, water skiing, rafting, or crossing a river with only a rope at the feet. This camp is unique because of its campers; they have autism.
The camp offers extreme sports to kids that are not likely to have experienced any sort of sports before, but certainly not extreme sports. The camp's method stresses sensory overload. Struggling is part of the course. (Click here to view the ABC Nightline segment about the camp)
Staff members at the camp engage with the children, and study each camper so they can understand how best to reach that individual. They use touch with the campers who can’t communicate any other way. With others, touch is used as a way to overload the senses. Each child gets the individualized program he or she needs - and is pushed to their limit, and then beyond those limits! The children experience a sense of accomplishment, and take pride in doing something that nobody - even the child himself - thought he could. The camp fosters a sense of solidarity and cooperative spirit among the campers, but its the ultimate goal is self-reliance. And the campers return - year after year!
As you are setting goals for your school, or your classroom, or your child, think about the benefits these children get from reaching beyond what they thought they could do, and set stretch goals that challenge you to do more as you continue the journey toward full engagement throughout the learning community.
Click here for more information about the Extreme Sports Camp in Roaring Fork Valley.
Friday, October 2, 2009
The Talent Code
There was a great segment on Nightline last night talking about the human brain's potential to create new white matter. According to Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code, the myelination process, the insulating of the "wiring" for certain activities, when taken to the extremes, is actually what creates genius. (Watch the segment here)
Coyle says what makes talent is two basic things- lots of practice, and great coaching. When a new skill is learned, new pathways form in the brain, or existing pathways are extended to "map" the new skill. As we practice the skill over and over, the newly formed path becomes a superhighway - an ultimate connector, that is not only extremely fast, but is very reliable.
Great coaching has to do with who the coach is - the great coaches have some very key core factors like being laid back, relational, and engaging in intense moments of very targeted correction. The "golden second" for coaching is immediately after an error has occurred. Unless you reach the edge of error and frustration, you never build the brain's potential - or your talent.
Families play a critical role in guiding students and coaching them in many aspects of development. Mentors (or advisories) create the opportunities for the building long term coaching relationships in the school environment that helps students -and their families - explore and develop interests, abilities, and talent - and take advantage of the golden seconds when talent is nurtured.
What Coyle is describing, of course, is one of the key aspects of Engaged Learning Communities!
Coyle says what makes talent is two basic things- lots of practice, and great coaching. When a new skill is learned, new pathways form in the brain, or existing pathways are extended to "map" the new skill. As we practice the skill over and over, the newly formed path becomes a superhighway - an ultimate connector, that is not only extremely fast, but is very reliable.
Great coaching has to do with who the coach is - the great coaches have some very key core factors like being laid back, relational, and engaging in intense moments of very targeted correction. The "golden second" for coaching is immediately after an error has occurred. Unless you reach the edge of error and frustration, you never build the brain's potential - or your talent.
Families play a critical role in guiding students and coaching them in many aspects of development. Mentors (or advisories) create the opportunities for the building long term coaching relationships in the school environment that helps students -and their families - explore and develop interests, abilities, and talent - and take advantage of the golden seconds when talent is nurtured.
What Coyle is describing, of course, is one of the key aspects of Engaged Learning Communities!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Lackawanna!
I was headed west on I-10 in Jacksonville, Florida the other day, and was deep in thought about the creative ideas and plans that one of my client schools is pursuing, the success that they are beginning to see in building relationships. Mixed with the excitement over that school, was concern for another school where leadership is not really on fire. I was lost in thought about why some leaders excel, while other leaders seem to get in their own way - why some teachers are successful in reaching kids, and some seem to be putting in time for a paycheck - and why some students really take responsibility for their education, and others are still struggling. All of the sudden the answer was right there in front of me on I-10 as I approached McDuff Avenue! A huge sign on the side of the building just to my right said LACKAWANNA. As it turns out, in a cruel twist of fate, Lackawanna is the alternative education center for Duval County.
In our work with schools and school districts, we encounter Lackawanna, or Lack-of-Want-To, far too often in education. Educators have seen a steady stream of programs and initiatives that have been abandoned before they reached their potential, accomplished very little, or outright failed. After a while, many veterans adopt the mentality of "this too shall pass" and quit trying, choosing instead to weather the storm until the new program is in the rear view mirror.Students, discouraged when success doesn't come quickly, abandon the pursuit and quit. The interesting thing is, that in failing to try, these students and educators have already decided to fail! I was struck at how different this is than those pursuing excellence in any endeavor.
Take for example, Maurice Ashley, who in 1999 became the International Grandmaster of Chess. (Click here to learn more.) "Losing is learning," Maurice says, "it's just part of the process. The only way you can fail is if you don't get back up and try again." Maurice cannot imagine what it would be to not try again. Or in other words, he has Gottawanna!
We have a lot of schools who are reversing Lackawanna, even in some very rough circumstances. Leaders, teachers, and students all are finding their Gottawanna to build relationships, to close the circle of support for students, to take responsibility, and to maximize the potential of ALL students. How about you? Gottawanna!
In our work with schools and school districts, we encounter Lackawanna, or Lack-of-Want-To, far too often in education. Educators have seen a steady stream of programs and initiatives that have been abandoned before they reached their potential, accomplished very little, or outright failed. After a while, many veterans adopt the mentality of "this too shall pass" and quit trying, choosing instead to weather the storm until the new program is in the rear view mirror.Students, discouraged when success doesn't come quickly, abandon the pursuit and quit. The interesting thing is, that in failing to try, these students and educators have already decided to fail! I was struck at how different this is than those pursuing excellence in any endeavor.
Take for example, Maurice Ashley, who in 1999 became the International Grandmaster of Chess. (Click here to learn more.) "Losing is learning," Maurice says, "it's just part of the process. The only way you can fail is if you don't get back up and try again." Maurice cannot imagine what it would be to not try again. Or in other words, he has Gottawanna!
We have a lot of schools who are reversing Lackawanna, even in some very rough circumstances. Leaders, teachers, and students all are finding their Gottawanna to build relationships, to close the circle of support for students, to take responsibility, and to maximize the potential of ALL students. How about you? Gottawanna!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Greenway Elementary and Publix Engage Lifelong Learners
A friend of mine who is a parent of a child at Greenway Elementary in Marion County, Florida, left an excited message tonight about how much fun she and her children had this evening at Publix Family Math Night.
Publix, a local grocery store, and the teachers at Greenway Elementary, worked together to help parents and children solve real world shopping problems using skills the students have been studying in school. (Problems were provided in three learning levels - K-1, 2-3, and 4-5) The children had a chance to share learning with their parents, and gave teachers and opportunity to model for parents something they can do to help their children learn and reinforce their skills using ordinary, everyday activities!
Teachers met families as they came into the store, welcoming them, and providing information. Families visited a variety of stations set up throughout the store solving problems together. Publix provided snack foods and drinks and a treat bag (coloring book, crayons, and an apple) for everyone who attended. More teachers were stationed at the store exit, to thank parents and students for attending – and giving students a homework pass for attending the event.
Notice what this school did. They took the activity off the school campus, to a place that is familiar ground for families - the grocery store. They made sure they welcomed families, and created an opportunity to build relationships. They linked to learning - giving children and families a chance to share learning. We often hear from parents that they want to help their children at home, but they don't know what to do. The Greenway teachers used this fun opportunity to show parents how to use something they already do - grocery shopping - to reinforce what students are learning. And Publix not only made the night fun for the kids, but they build customer loyalty in the short run, and a better workforce down the road!
Kudos to Greenway Elementary and Publix Supermarket for an outstanding example of creating an Engaged Learning Community!
Publix, a local grocery store, and the teachers at Greenway Elementary, worked together to help parents and children solve real world shopping problems using skills the students have been studying in school. (Problems were provided in three learning levels - K-1, 2-3, and 4-5) The children had a chance to share learning with their parents, and gave teachers and opportunity to model for parents something they can do to help their children learn and reinforce their skills using ordinary, everyday activities!
Teachers met families as they came into the store, welcoming them, and providing information. Families visited a variety of stations set up throughout the store solving problems together. Publix provided snack foods and drinks and a treat bag (coloring book, crayons, and an apple) for everyone who attended. More teachers were stationed at the store exit, to thank parents and students for attending – and giving students a homework pass for attending the event.
Notice what this school did. They took the activity off the school campus, to a place that is familiar ground for families - the grocery store. They made sure they welcomed families, and created an opportunity to build relationships. They linked to learning - giving children and families a chance to share learning. We often hear from parents that they want to help their children at home, but they don't know what to do. The Greenway teachers used this fun opportunity to show parents how to use something they already do - grocery shopping - to reinforce what students are learning. And Publix not only made the night fun for the kids, but they build customer loyalty in the short run, and a better workforce down the road!
Kudos to Greenway Elementary and Publix Supermarket for an outstanding example of creating an Engaged Learning Community!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Extreme Makeover: School Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is one of my favorite television shows. The show, which airs on ABC, is dedicated to rebuilding a family’s home when the family is in need of hope. The transformation is no mere facelift. They do not add new coats of paint, build additions to the existing structure, or put patches here and there. The old house is literally torn down. While some of the elements of the old house may be reused in new ways, what emerges is a completely new home.
Schools can learn a lot from the show. There are many students and families who have lost hope in schools all over this country. Hopeless leads to despair and disengagement. Band-aids, newsletters, and progress reports are not enough to create the extreme makeover these students and their families need.
On the television show, a small team of people arrives at the house of the family for whom the makeover is being done. They spend time getting to know the family, connecting with them, learning about each person’s unique interests, and any special needs or circumstances that must be considered in the makeover design. Community resources are then marshalled, and scores of individuals and businesses rally to create exactly what is needed for each member of the family, giving them new hope for a brighter future.
The disillusioned and disenfranchised families in our school communities are not all that different than the families on the ABC show. The specific circumstances that have led to their sense of hopelessness and despair, and caused them to disengage are not the central issue in creating change. What is important is what WE do next.
What if we sent a small team of people to the home of the disengaged family? What if we spent time getting to know them, and learning about their unique interests, needs, and circumstances? What if we reached out and helped meet those needs and began restoring hope?
Rhonda Ulmer of Van Bokkelen Elementary School in Severn, Maryland did just that. Five years ago, Van Bokkelen was one of the worst performing schools in the entire state, and was in danger of state takeover because of failure to make AYP for more than one year. Rhonda knew that something major needed to happen. And so she started reaching out to families in the community, soliciting help to get the school turned around. It didn’t take long before it was clear to her that the reason that many families were not more engaged in the school was because all of their time and energy was going to solve more basic challenges like providing shelter for their family, getting medical care for their children, putting food on the table, and trying to keep their children safe while they worked two jobs to just keep their head above water most of the time.
So Rhonda started marshalling community resources to meet the needs. She convinced the city to buy an abandoned building in the middle of the neighborhood, just up the street from the school, and put a medical clinic there. She had local groups bring first time homebuyers programs, complete with incentives that contributed down payments to purchasers completing a financial education program to the school. She brought GED programs to the school. She brought job skills training programs. She brought after school enrichment and child care programs. She brought more and more programs that addressed more and more of the basic needs the families needed. The school became the hub of the community, meeting the needs of more than just elementary aged students. As families started coming to the school to access these basic needs through the services offered there, they began connecting with teachers, with the principal, and with each other.
Five years later, Van Bokkelen has been transformed by the Extreme Makeover. Seventy-eight percent of fifth graders scored proficient or advanced in state math testing this year. The school has made AYP 4 years in a row. Grades and test scores are up across the board – but even more importantly – hope is restored to families who were desperately in need of hope – and re-engaged in the educational lives of their children.
Where will the next Extreme Makeover: School Edition be?
Schools can learn a lot from the show. There are many students and families who have lost hope in schools all over this country. Hopeless leads to despair and disengagement. Band-aids, newsletters, and progress reports are not enough to create the extreme makeover these students and their families need.
On the television show, a small team of people arrives at the house of the family for whom the makeover is being done. They spend time getting to know the family, connecting with them, learning about each person’s unique interests, and any special needs or circumstances that must be considered in the makeover design. Community resources are then marshalled, and scores of individuals and businesses rally to create exactly what is needed for each member of the family, giving them new hope for a brighter future.
The disillusioned and disenfranchised families in our school communities are not all that different than the families on the ABC show. The specific circumstances that have led to their sense of hopelessness and despair, and caused them to disengage are not the central issue in creating change. What is important is what WE do next.
What if we sent a small team of people to the home of the disengaged family? What if we spent time getting to know them, and learning about their unique interests, needs, and circumstances? What if we reached out and helped meet those needs and began restoring hope?
Rhonda Ulmer of Van Bokkelen Elementary School in Severn, Maryland did just that. Five years ago, Van Bokkelen was one of the worst performing schools in the entire state, and was in danger of state takeover because of failure to make AYP for more than one year. Rhonda knew that something major needed to happen. And so she started reaching out to families in the community, soliciting help to get the school turned around. It didn’t take long before it was clear to her that the reason that many families were not more engaged in the school was because all of their time and energy was going to solve more basic challenges like providing shelter for their family, getting medical care for their children, putting food on the table, and trying to keep their children safe while they worked two jobs to just keep their head above water most of the time.
So Rhonda started marshalling community resources to meet the needs. She convinced the city to buy an abandoned building in the middle of the neighborhood, just up the street from the school, and put a medical clinic there. She had local groups bring first time homebuyers programs, complete with incentives that contributed down payments to purchasers completing a financial education program to the school. She brought GED programs to the school. She brought job skills training programs. She brought after school enrichment and child care programs. She brought more and more programs that addressed more and more of the basic needs the families needed. The school became the hub of the community, meeting the needs of more than just elementary aged students. As families started coming to the school to access these basic needs through the services offered there, they began connecting with teachers, with the principal, and with each other.
Five years later, Van Bokkelen has been transformed by the Extreme Makeover. Seventy-eight percent of fifth graders scored proficient or advanced in state math testing this year. The school has made AYP 4 years in a row. Grades and test scores are up across the board – but even more importantly – hope is restored to families who were desperately in need of hope – and re-engaged in the educational lives of their children.
Where will the next Extreme Makeover: School Edition be?
Friday, September 4, 2009
Engagement = Nurturing in Healthy Ways
My parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this week. If you know them, you know they are truly extraordinary people. They are also terrific parents – and now, wonderful grandparents. I was reminded again tonight how unbelievably wise they are. Po Bronson, author of NurtureShock was interviewed on Nightline tonight about the damage that is being done to children because of the "praise addiction" of the adults around them. Researchers have discovered that telling children how smart they are actually causes children to fear challenge and avoid opportunities for learning and growth so that they will continue to appear smart! (Click here to read more on the interview)
My parents didn’t need the PhD researchers at Stanford and Columbia or Bronson’s NurtureShock to show them this truth. When my sister was in elementary school, she was placed in new program the school district started for students with high IQs. My parents never told her why she had been placed in that class. They kept the same even hand they had always had, making learning fun, challenging us, learning with us, and encouraging us to explore all of our interests and dreams.
One day my sister came home from school and told mom that one of the kids in the program said the reason they were put in there is because they were smarter than the other kids. She wanted to know if this was true. My mother looked at my sister and said, “Well, what do you think? Do you think that you are smarter than the kids who are not in that class?” My sister thought for a minute and said “No, I don’t think so.” My mother’s reply was “Well, then I guess you will just have to work hard and do your very best.”
It worked pretty well - my sister is now a pediatrician - and a mother raising a child to love growing the brain!
It worked pretty well - my sister is now a pediatrician - and a mother raising a child to love growing the brain!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Shaping Expectations
A friend sent me this link today for Dennis Hopper's rendition of the Rudyard Kipling poem "If."
I have always particularly liked this poem. I can still remember the first time my mother pulled the big red book of literature off the wall of shelves that was filled with books in our Florida room, and turned to this poem. I remember listening as she read it, and the line that jumped out at me was "if you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat these two imposters just the same." I was playing little league baseball at the time, and my coach was not a graceful winner, or a graceful loser. Hearing that line helped me strive to be gracious and even keeled, win or lose. I was no less competitive, and no less passionate - but in that moment, I realized the game is left on the field. In later years, as a lawyer and lobbyist, these words echoed through my head many times, and helped me maintain relationships with teammates and opponents no matter how fierce the battle.
As I listened today, I was reminded again what great opportunities we have to learn with and from our children - and in this case, in a YouTube format that is comfortable for them. What do your children hear in this poem? What message did they get? What does it tell you about who they are, what their dreams are, what they may be struggling with? How does it differ from what you hear? Giving 5 minutes to share something like this with your child can set the kind of expectations we would all like our children to strive for - and as it has done for me - it can pay dividends for a lifetime!
I have always particularly liked this poem. I can still remember the first time my mother pulled the big red book of literature off the wall of shelves that was filled with books in our Florida room, and turned to this poem. I remember listening as she read it, and the line that jumped out at me was "if you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat these two imposters just the same." I was playing little league baseball at the time, and my coach was not a graceful winner, or a graceful loser. Hearing that line helped me strive to be gracious and even keeled, win or lose. I was no less competitive, and no less passionate - but in that moment, I realized the game is left on the field. In later years, as a lawyer and lobbyist, these words echoed through my head many times, and helped me maintain relationships with teammates and opponents no matter how fierce the battle.
As I listened today, I was reminded again what great opportunities we have to learn with and from our children - and in this case, in a YouTube format that is comfortable for them. What do your children hear in this poem? What message did they get? What does it tell you about who they are, what their dreams are, what they may be struggling with? How does it differ from what you hear? Giving 5 minutes to share something like this with your child can set the kind of expectations we would all like our children to strive for - and as it has done for me - it can pay dividends for a lifetime!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Reaching for the Stars!
Jose Hernandez, the child of migrant workers, is still reaching for the stars! He is one of seven astronauts blasting off on the space shuttle and headed for the International Space Station. (Click here to follow Jose and the other astronauts on STS-128) Jose’s story is not the story of the typical astronaut. He and his parents were migrant workers, picking fruits and vegetables. His parents, who had only a third grade education, knew the secret to Jose's success was getting the education they never had. They not only listened to his dreams, and encouraged him to pursue the dream, they became a part of the dream, scraping together the money help him go to college and get an engineering degree! (Click here to view Jose’s story on Good Morning America) For eight years, Jose has worked strapping in other astronauts. Now it is his turn to be what he always dreamed; an astronaut!
As our company, The Engage Institute, travels around the country helping educators create more effective partnerships with families, and helping families learn how they can help their children achieve their greatest potential, we have the opportunity to celebrate success with families like Jose’s -families who have learned that one of the keys to creating high performing kids is talking to their children often about their hopes and dreams, and helping them plan and prepare to make those dreams come true.
As the shuttle blasts off with Jose Hernandez on board, we are all celebrating with Jose's family for what they have accomplished! Tell your child about Jose’s dream and his journey. Let his story help your child see that ANYTHING is possible. And then ask your child what his or her dream is – and help your child reach for the stars too! (Click here to follow Jose Hernandez’s journey on Twitter)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Kiss Heard 'Round the World
In a time when we most schools are striving to engage families in the educational life of their child, and create stronger bonds in the circle of support for students, one school has apparently decided to discourage student-family-school connections.
Justin Denney, a senior at Bonny Eagle High School in Maine, took a bow and blew a kiss to his family as he walked across stage at graduation ceremonies. Suzanne Lukas, the district superintendent who was presenting diplomas at the ceremony, sent Denney back to his seat - without his diploma!
It's been a long time since I graduated from high school, but things haven't changed that much. It's still the culimination of 13 years of work by families and students a like. It is still a milestone to be celebated. And it still involves teens, eager for a taste of "freedom." At times, the exuberance overflows. I've never been to a graduation ceremony at any level where it didn't happen.
If Denney's celebratory actions had created health or safety risks, we would understand the school stepping in to stop the action and mitigate the risks. But here's a student who, in a moment of joy turns and shows some appreciation to the family members who helped him reach this milestone - and for that breach of decorum he was denied a diploma!
Research has been telling us for more than 20 years that engaging families in the educational life of a child makes it much more likely a child will graduate from high school. Schools who are working to create greater engagment ARE seeing graduations rates rise. In Athens, Tennessee, from 75 percent to nearly 90 percent. In Marietta, Georgia, from 65 percent to more than 78 percent. In Granger, Washington, from less than 50 pecent to more than 90 percent. These high schools are creating engaged learning communities - making families full partners in creating success for students... and they EXPECT them to celebrate together just as they have worked together to reach the goal.
When asked later about the incident involving Denney, Lukas said "If a student doesn't adhere to the expectations, then the consequences are clearly spelled out."
In the end, the problem for Justin Denney and Bonny Eagle High School might be the expectations. Most high schools don't expect families to be very involved. Many high schools like Bonny Eagle only want the parent's checkbook - for athletic boosters, band boosters, yearbooks, and yes, even graduation invitations and cap and gown. Denney's family didn't meet these expectations - they WERE involved in meaningful ways, and were eager to celebrate with him.
Most schools expect that certain students will not succeed. Perhaps Denney was one of those students who was written off years ago... and his reaching graduation didn't meet the expectations for him.
And who would have expected a teenager to celebrate the accomplishment by demonstrating affection for his family? How very grateful of him! How very un-teen-like of him! That certainly doesn't meet the expectations regarding teenage behavior.
You earned the diploma Justin Denney. You don't need the piece of paper in the fancy cardboard cover to be a graduate. Use Suzanne Lukas as motivation, and go write your success story with the help of your family.
Justin Denney, a senior at Bonny Eagle High School in Maine, took a bow and blew a kiss to his family as he walked across stage at graduation ceremonies. Suzanne Lukas, the district superintendent who was presenting diplomas at the ceremony, sent Denney back to his seat - without his diploma!
It's been a long time since I graduated from high school, but things haven't changed that much. It's still the culimination of 13 years of work by families and students a like. It is still a milestone to be celebated. And it still involves teens, eager for a taste of "freedom." At times, the exuberance overflows. I've never been to a graduation ceremony at any level where it didn't happen.
If Denney's celebratory actions had created health or safety risks, we would understand the school stepping in to stop the action and mitigate the risks. But here's a student who, in a moment of joy turns and shows some appreciation to the family members who helped him reach this milestone - and for that breach of decorum he was denied a diploma!
Research has been telling us for more than 20 years that engaging families in the educational life of a child makes it much more likely a child will graduate from high school. Schools who are working to create greater engagment ARE seeing graduations rates rise. In Athens, Tennessee, from 75 percent to nearly 90 percent. In Marietta, Georgia, from 65 percent to more than 78 percent. In Granger, Washington, from less than 50 pecent to more than 90 percent. These high schools are creating engaged learning communities - making families full partners in creating success for students... and they EXPECT them to celebrate together just as they have worked together to reach the goal.
When asked later about the incident involving Denney, Lukas said "If a student doesn't adhere to the expectations, then the consequences are clearly spelled out."
In the end, the problem for Justin Denney and Bonny Eagle High School might be the expectations. Most high schools don't expect families to be very involved. Many high schools like Bonny Eagle only want the parent's checkbook - for athletic boosters, band boosters, yearbooks, and yes, even graduation invitations and cap and gown. Denney's family didn't meet these expectations - they WERE involved in meaningful ways, and were eager to celebrate with him.
Most schools expect that certain students will not succeed. Perhaps Denney was one of those students who was written off years ago... and his reaching graduation didn't meet the expectations for him.
And who would have expected a teenager to celebrate the accomplishment by demonstrating affection for his family? How very grateful of him! How very un-teen-like of him! That certainly doesn't meet the expectations regarding teenage behavior.
You earned the diploma Justin Denney. You don't need the piece of paper in the fancy cardboard cover to be a graduate. Use Suzanne Lukas as motivation, and go write your success story with the help of your family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
