Comments on: Where are we going?

By: Jeff Wasserman

Jeff Wasserman — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:29:32 +0000

I had my once-every-eight-days lunch duty today. I guess I'm not out there enough, but it was really amazing how pissed off I was at the behavior I saw. Kids who I asked nicely to, like, clean off the table so the next kids to sit there didn't have to look at plates filled with pizza crusts openly refused. One kid tried to escalate the situation but backed down when he saw that I was standing with a school security guard (and given the Tasering of a student at my school last week, I wonder what was going through his head). I'm not old-fashioned. I'm not a Victorian. I'm a messy, potty-mouthed, 30-year-old guy who is appalled at how callous people can be.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:47:53 +0000

Thanks, Jeff, I needed that. Though I resist the entering grades every day (I figure I can call the baby card until at least one year), I had just been thinking of the whole “be the change you want to see” on the planning period I sort of squandered. And I love Jose Vilson too )

By: Teresa

Teresa — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:34:44 +0000

Wonderfully interesting and hopeful blog. The more self-reflective educators are, the better. It’s not just about saving paper here and there, etc. as you so accurately point out, but in honing our behaviors as role models, making them more precise. If we live and teach precision, we will see it unfold in remarkable ways in students – in their behaviors and in their sentences.

By: tracy

tracy — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:02:33 +0000

I like what you say here, and I’ve commented on it in my own post, ‘Mr. Wasserman re-directs.’

I think you hit it on the head when you look for ’some reason for existing’. I wonder how students would answer that question.

(I hope it’s ok that I tried to recreate your blog header for the post visual You can see it by clicking on ‘home’ at the top of the page)
http://leadingfromtheheart.org/2008/05/19/mr-wasserman-re-directs/

By: Mr. Wasserman re-directs | leadingfromtheheart.org

Mr. Wasserman re-directs | leadingfromtheheart.org — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:58:26 +0000

[...] to Jose for pointing me towards Mr. Wasserman who I NEED to applaud for writing this: I don’t want this to be a complaining post. Nobody likes [...]

By: Jeff Wasserman

Jeff Wasserman — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:04:22 +0000

And oddly enough, this came up again this morning w/r/t the youth group I “lead,” which has devolved into little more than let’s-compare-cell-phones-and-gossip-about-our-friends-who -aren’t-here sessions. There needs to be some direction to the thing, some social action, some reason for existing. I’m still working that one out, too, but hopefully it’ll begin to take shape in time for the fall.

By: jose

jose — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:03:41 +0000

I’m loving the post. I think, not just as educators but as adults, we do have a certain responsibility to help develop the youth of this country. We’re not crusaders by any means, but we don’t often take our roles as that “village” seriously. I like how you’re thinking globally about some of the local issues you’re seeing in your building. As far as the meetings go, I completely understand. I wouldn’t want my kids nodding off, writing notes to other students, and wishing they were somewhere else, but “What I do? Act more stupidly.”

Good post.