Lessons from Walking: How Changing Perspective Changes What You See

Last week, I was walking to the bank when I saw two plates of cake remnants sitting in the grass.  They weren't styrofoam; it wasn't just litter.  They were actual dishes.  While that's one of the weirder things I have seen while out walking, it is not the only weird thing.  I've seen pairs of mismatched shoes, hundreds of rabbits and squirrels and unattended cats, and you would not believe how many condoms are just sitting on the side of the road.  

Why have I seen those things while you have missed them?  Because I am on foot.  There's a different world going on that you don't see from your car but you will see if you are walking or jogging.  Since I also have a lot of thinking time when I am walking, I have thought a lot about why this is.  Why do I see the plate of cake when I walk to the bank when I would never have seen them from behind the wheel?  I think it boils down to three things.

Proximity - When out walking on the sidewalk, I am closer to the side of the road than when I am in the car.  Therefore, I am able to see the bra that someone left next to the bus stop or hundreds of unexplained feet of twine.  Simply being closer to it makes the invisible visible.

Speed - When driving, I am going anywhere from 25mph to 60mph, depending on the road.  When walking, I am moving at 4mph.  That means I have time to read the signs and notice that there is an oddly placed exclamation point (Is that really something you need after the phrase "Zoned for commercial"?).

Gaze - When driving, you keep your eyes, as you should, on the road.  When you look left and right, it is at car height level.  You don't look up and notice the cracked chimney or gaze into the distance and see that there is a party bus parked on the side street every day for two weeks only to be followed by a 1980s church van for the next month. (Does the guy who lives there collect strange vehicles?  I have so many unanswered questions.)

What does all of this have to do with education?  There are a lot of things going on with our students that we might not notice if we get too focused on our destination and not on our path.  

Proximity - The hardest part of virtual teaching was that we no longer had proximity to our students.  They were in their own homes, often with their cameras off.  We couldn't hear the sounds they make when they are confused or see that they seemed more tired or sad or angry than usual.  We couldn't lean over their shoulder and see the minor mistake they were making on a problem that was going to lead to a wrong answer.  As we return to school this year, it is important that we take advantage of our return to proximity.  I know that Covid isn't done with us yet, so I am not suggesting that you violate social distancing (which has been changed to three feet!), but you will have students in front of you.  Take advantage of it to notice what you weren't noticing last year.

Speed - I tend to get goal-focused.  There's a place I have planned to get to by the end of a class period, and if the first-period class got to that point, I want to make sure second-period gets there as well.  If we aren't careful, we can miss moments of student curiosity while we try to reach that point.  Don't let a teachable moment pass you by without acknowledgment.  If you truly cannot afford to slow down (because there are complicated reasons why that may be true), then make a note of the students' question and look it up to address later.  I have the advantage of being able to email my students, so I can take a few minutes at the end of the day to look up the answer to their question and send them a link to an article or youtube video that will help answer their question.  I know that not every school allows that, but you can start class the next day with, "Hey, I found the answer to your question.  It is . . ."  I've seen our chemistry teacher write it in the agenda for the day on the board, and I think it is so great for a student to see, "Answer Ben's question" on the day's agenda.  It's obviously great for Ben, but it sends a message to all the other students as well about how much she cared to find out the answer and then put answering it into the lesson plan for the day.

Gaze - Even the quietest students communicate volumes non-verbally.  However, we have to be very intentional about noticing it.  I have a hard time with this one.  I hear everything, but I tend not to notice things visually.  A student has sat in my classroom with a hat on for half a class period before I noticed.   For some teachers, eye contact with individuals is totally natural, but even after 22 years, I have to remind myself to do it because it is so important.

This may sound intimidating, but it is just a change of perspective.  It doesn't mean doing something different.  It means doing it differently.  Changing your perspective will change what you see.  

When Everything Goes Wrong: The Best Camp Week Ever

I've been participating in Royal Family Kids Camp for the past fourteen years.  Last week was the best week of camp I've ever had.  I'm not the only one who feels that way.  Others have posted about it as well.  Reading that, you might think everything went according to our perfectly planned schedule.  If you think that, you would be wrong.  Many, many things went differently than we expected, but God used all of it to make a week of fun and bonding and great memories for some awesome kids.

As you can imagine, at a camp that takes place in North Carolina in July, the pool is an important part of our day.  The kids have at least one swim time each day, and on some days, there are two swim times.  At every meal, I ask kids about their favorite things.  Swimming is the most common answer.  So, when we found the pool was likely unavailable, it was a concern.  Many people had spent many hours working to repair the pool (which had apparently been leaking the year before).  The pool itself was fixed, but the repairs required digging up the concrete deck around the pool, so we couldn't get to it.  On Sunday, we believed it to be possible that the concrete would get poured on Monday, the pool inspected Tuesday morning, and that we would be back in business by Tuesday afternoon.  Then, we had a long, heavy rain on Sunday and a thunderstorm on Monday afternoon.  Concrete cannot be poured over wet ground, and it is unwise to pour it if it looks like it will be rained on before it sets; so that meant there would be no pool.  The adults were worried that this might make for a bad week, but alternate plans were made.  On Monday, the kids played water games (think your middle school field day activities), and then we rented an inflatable water slide.  The squeals and laughter coming from the kids on that slide were a sign to me that they didn't feel deprived.  

Because last year, we didn't have "real camp," we invited the kids whose last year it would have been to return this year.  That meant we had a group of graduates who were 12 and 13.  As you know, 13-year-olds don't enjoy the same things as 7-year-olds, so our director planned a sort of parallel camp schedule.  It wreaked all kinds of havoc with the schedule because we had to split the staff in ways we hadn't before.  Adding to that was the goal of keeping kids and adults in cohorts for CoVid reasons, so our poor directors kept having to schedule and reschedule where our people went.  While that was a challenge, it led to some people doing things they never had before.  I did two nights of counselor relief, an hour at bedtime when the counselors get a break and staff members spend time with their kids in the cabins.  I had never done it before because most of my work takes place in the evenings, but because of the challenging scheduling, I got to spend some sweet time giggling with delightfully creative girls who told me about their imaginary pets and sang very silly songs.  

On Tuesday, we were supposed to have a special event with the Super Skippers, a jump rope squad that teaches the kids how to do some tricks.  We have had them before, and they are amazing.  For some reason, they were unable to come.  With no time to plan an alternative, our evening activity became free-play with the birthday presents the kids received at dinner.  I took the opportunity to make one of my eleven Wal-Mart runs (no, that's not hyperbole), and when I returned, I found groups of kids and counselors playing basketball, swinging and climbing on playground equipment, playing with slinkies, and riding bikes.  Have that one hour of unscheduled time was nice for them.  All the things we plan are awesome, and too much downtime would lead to problems, but that one hour was lovely and made going to bed that night a bit easier because they weren't transitioning from a super high energy activity.

Because we are considered a compassionate charity and work with children in foster care, there are some things were are not allowed to do.  One of those is holding altar calls.  We are free to teach Bible stories and pray with kids and respond to their questions, but we are not allowed to ask them to come forward or raise their hands, etc.  Of course, that means we also tell anyone we have invited that they cannot do it either.  The magicians we invited to perform on Thursday went right up to that line, and every adult in the room was scared they were going to cross it.  While it shouldn't have happened, God still used it because the kids asked their counselors questions that led to important conversations.

I'm not sure I've ever had a week at camp where more changed from the original plan, but I also don't think I've ever had a camp week where it seemed every kid had a good experience.  That's not to say we didn't have drama and tears (We had some 13-year-old girls, remember), but at the end of the week, they went home with the experience of riding a horse for the first time or finding the items on a treasure hunt or building a wood project they could be proud of. They took home a bracelet or keychain or checkers board or hat or decorative rock or painting or fuse bead necklace or Lego project or tie-dyed pillowcase (we have a lot of crafts) they enjoyed making.  They went home with the memory of singing and dancing with people who treated them kindly and a CD and CD player so they could listen to those songs and make those memories last.  Their photo albums will serve as a touchstone to remember all of these moments and relationships when their lives are hard and they don't feel important.  They won't remember that the schedule changed or that the Super Skippers bailed.  We hope they will remember that they are loved by a group of adults who will always hold them in their hearts.  

Summer - Why We Need It

I am now a little over halfway through summer.  To those of you that have regular jobs, you may be wondering why teachers need summer.  I get it.  It seems that we have an awful lot of time off between Christmas break, spring break, and summer, and I will admit that the one year I didn't teach, it was jarring to be at work on Christmas Eve.  I believe, however, that if it were not for summer, my house would be falling apart.  

During the school year, teachers are focused on planning, executing plans, and grading.  Only one of those can be completed during school hours.  For those teachers who also coach or direct plays or sponsor clubs, there is even less time to complete everything we need to do.  You almost never see a teacher walk out of the school building empty-handed because they are usually taking home something to grade.  I'm single, so I can't even imagine how those teachers who have their own children at home are doing the things they need to do.  

This summer, I have finally had time to do little things like clean the bathtub (It was getting a little gross) and vacuum.  I have also had the time to read, which I wasn't doing much of during this particular school year.  I wanted my brain back, so I've been reading Tolkein, a book of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's writings, and will soon read Andy Weir's new book Project Hail Mary.  What I have really needed summer to accomplish was ripping my deck off.  There's no way I could have found time do that during the school year.  I have completed about 50 videos for use in teaching (so it's not like we don't do some school during the summer).

Those things are all physical tasks, but the real value of the summer is less visible.  Teachers put all of their emotional energy into the school year.  I don't doubt that people in every profession work hard and put a lot of themselves into it, but there are a few fields (education, psychology, medicine) in which you take on the burdens of other people.  That's a lot of load.  This year, there was more load than ever and even fewer mental resources available to carry it.  Yet, we did.  This summer has involved a lot more unloading than usual.  If we didn't take the time to step away from the daily needs of students, we would have nothing left to give next year's students.  Summer is a time of refilling so that we can start pouring out again next year.  

I am not complaining.  I don't want any other job than teaching.  I just ask that if you have a job outside of education, that you not assume teachers have it easy because of our summer.  That summer is necessary for us to accomplish what you want from us during the school year.

You May Never Know

When a surgeon does his job well, he knows because the patient recovers.  He can see the results right away.  When an airline pilot does his job well, he knows because the plane lands smoothly and all passengers exit in one piece.  He can see the result right away.  When a farmer does his job well, the results take a bit longer, but they can see it happening when the plants grow, flower, fruit, and are eventually harvested.  There are a few professions in which the result of the work is slow, so slow that those who practice it may never see the evidence of their impact.  I'm sure there are many professions in which this is true, but the ones I am now thinking of are preachers and teachers.  

Twenty years ago, I taught a student with a massive anger management problem.  When he got angry, he started gearing up for a fight by dropping his backpack and pawing his foot on the ground like a bull.  As I recognized these signs, I would put two fingers on each of his shoulders and gently push him out the door to count to ten or a hundred or whatever it took.  I would tell him to go to the bathroom and wash his face and come back when he was calm.  This scenario happened several times a week for the entire year, and I didn't imagine I had made much difference as he left my class still angry.  Five years later, I happened to be in a restaurant when I ran into the boy (by then, a 20-year-old man).  He hugged me excitedly and introduced me to his friend as "the teacher who put up with all my crap."  I don't know what he is now doing in his life, but I hope that he is less angry as an adult (now 35) than he was in high school.

I have posted my favorite TED talk on the blog before.  Its official title is Everyday Leadership, but I have always referred to it as Lolipop Moments because it is the story that drives the point.  A man working in a school has a massive impact on a young woman's life; she eventually invites him to her wedding because of the meaningful experience he gave her on her first day of college.  Yet, he doesn't remember this event.  He makes the point that in living your daily life, you may have had influence you don't know you had.  We should all live our lives in a way that people will remember positively.  We all have these opportunities in our lives, but teachers have them every day.  Wink at the quiet kid, roll with the silly joke, say yes to the project that doesn't quite fit your expectations.  

I once taught a boy named Sam.  He graduated 10 years ago.  I happen to be Facebook friends with his mom, so when she posted a link to his pottery business, I went to his website and made a purchase. When the package arrived, there was a handwritten note on the invoice, thanking me for being his science teacher.  It said, "My love of glaze chemistry comes from your class."  I never taught him about glaze chemistry.  I know a little about it but not enough to teach it in my class.  He had been a scienc-y kid long before I got to him, but I was able to keep his love of chemistry alive.  He also had art teachers who inspired him along the way.  Now, he makes his living with a combination of art and science knowledge and skill.  I might never have known this.

How many students have you influenced in your career?  You might think only a handful because those are the ones you know about.  It's probably a lot more; there may be an adult out there right now who is telling their kids about you and something they learned in your class.  

You may never know.