These are some of the most powerful words I've read in the 30+ years I've been in education:
We should not have to beg systems to see our kids for who they really are, especially when that “real” is complex, non-compliant, nonlinear, or invisible to the untrained eye. I’ve come to believe that the kids who don’t fit easily into school as it’s currently built are not the problem, they’re the signal. They show us where things need to change, and how much broader and deeper our definitions of success, learning, and belonging need to be.
I will share them far and wide for sure -- and I'll keep pushing this message alongside you wherever I go.
I just got back from my son’s graduation, a milestone I wasn’t sure we’d ever reach, and your note brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.
What you shared is so deeply felt. I see your fight, your love, your exhaustion, and your clarity. And I recognize it, because I’ve lived versions of it, too. We should not have to beg systems to see our kids for who they really are, especially when that “real” is complex, nonlinear, or invisible to the untrained eye.
I’ve come to believe that the kids who don’t fit easily into school as it’s currently built are not the problem, they’re the signal. I am sitting in this idea right now, too. Because
They show us where things need to change, and how much broader and deeper our definitions of success, learning, and belonging need to be.
I’m so grateful my words met you where you are. And I’m holding space for you and your daughter in this moment. May she find the people and places who do see her. They are out there — and she deserves every single one of them.
Thank you. I have been so concerned about making students voices heard and seen that I haven’t articulated it with concrete ways for what that means for students that need movement, need to express themselves in radically different ways. Being seen and heard means really listening and observing their needs. My sister was one that never looked at the teacher or the person talking but knew everything that was said. She was sometimes considered indifferent. I had a very tall student who found sitting in those regular desks uncomfortable. I listened and watched him navigate a space and asked if he wanted to stand or sit on the floor. He decided to sit and stretch out since it was so comfortable for him. His productivity increased. He needed school to arrange a space for him and it worked.
Oh, Denise, I am so grateful there are teachers like you in the world noticing children and finding ways to open learning for them. Appreciate your sharing this, and would love to hear more!
I also somehow deleted your original post, and did not mean to at all!
Hey Jane!
And you deleted your beautiful reply, too! 😂
These are some of the most powerful words I've read in the 30+ years I've been in education:
We should not have to beg systems to see our kids for who they really are, especially when that “real” is complex, non-compliant, nonlinear, or invisible to the untrained eye. I’ve come to believe that the kids who don’t fit easily into school as it’s currently built are not the problem, they’re the signal. They show us where things need to change, and how much broader and deeper our definitions of success, learning, and belonging need to be.
I will share them far and wide for sure -- and I'll keep pushing this message alongside you wherever I go.
Here's to the quirky kid,
Bill
Bill,
I just got back from my son’s graduation, a milestone I wasn’t sure we’d ever reach, and your note brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.
What you shared is so deeply felt. I see your fight, your love, your exhaustion, and your clarity. And I recognize it, because I’ve lived versions of it, too. We should not have to beg systems to see our kids for who they really are, especially when that “real” is complex, nonlinear, or invisible to the untrained eye.
I’ve come to believe that the kids who don’t fit easily into school as it’s currently built are not the problem, they’re the signal. I am sitting in this idea right now, too. Because
They show us where things need to change, and how much broader and deeper our definitions of success, learning, and belonging need to be.
I’m so grateful my words met you where you are. And I’m holding space for you and your daughter in this moment. May she find the people and places who do see her. They are out there — and she deserves every single one of them.
With you in this,
Jane
Thank you. I have been so concerned about making students voices heard and seen that I haven’t articulated it with concrete ways for what that means for students that need movement, need to express themselves in radically different ways. Being seen and heard means really listening and observing their needs. My sister was one that never looked at the teacher or the person talking but knew everything that was said. She was sometimes considered indifferent. I had a very tall student who found sitting in those regular desks uncomfortable. I listened and watched him navigate a space and asked if he wanted to stand or sit on the floor. He decided to sit and stretch out since it was so comfortable for him. His productivity increased. He needed school to arrange a space for him and it worked.
Oh, Denise, I am so grateful there are teachers like you in the world noticing children and finding ways to open learning for them. Appreciate your sharing this, and would love to hear more!