Numbers Will Never Define Us

For the past 7 years, I have been fortunate to teach at West Leyden High School. West is located in the heart of a very blue collar and diverse town- Northlake, Ilinois. The numbers might suggest that we are an average school. With an median ACT score of 18, public perception probably agrees. But we don't let those numbers define us.

During the last 3 years, I've taught AP US History, a class that is regarded as one of the tougher classes in our curriculum. I've always been obsessed with numbers and judged our collective success or failure on our AP test results. After all, every AP teacher wants their students to perform well on the test and earn college credit. I do not mind bragging about my students' "numbers," because they deserve all the recognition in the world.

Tonight, I shared the test results with some of our students who were dying to find out their "number." One student in particular received a 4 instead of the 5 we both were hoping for. In all honesty, this student deserved a 5 and I was shocked she didn't get it. 4 is a great score, and almost every college in the nation is going to give her 6 credits for it. Even still, these numbers don't really matter that much.

Numbers don't measure the heart and desire of our students. If they did, and if they could, there wouldn't be enough numbers to calculate their unfailing drive for success.

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When I first started working at Leyden, the school assigned me a mentor whose job was to orientate me to the school and answer all my questions.  I used to tell Mike that, "I wanted to be him,"  as I respected his place in our community and his incredible rapport with our kids. Mike always responded by saying,

"You don't want to be me, you want to be better than me."

The kids I taught these past three years were better than me - literally. I received a 3 on this test when I was in high school and since I started teaching this class, 63 of the 70 kids who took the test surpassed me. That sort of ceremonious "passing of the torch" has so much power that it brings me to tears. Yet, the true meaning of all this lies in something much deeper.

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One of the foundational principles of my class is the phrase, "don't live life in the woulds," that is to say, do not regret any opportunity while in high school...I wish I would have...If I only would have...etc. I think this is a valuable life lesson that I learned, in many cases, the hard way.

I asked my student if she was disappointed with her "4" and her response was, "It may not be the score I really wanted, but I wouldn't change anything about how the year went. I have no regrets."

This is her story. This is the way it was written and she's sticking to it.

Numbers will never tell the story of what kids learn in our classes. These kids went through the fire and came out the other end- not as a number, but as a better version of themselves. The narrative of every school year is riddled with bumps and bruises, highs and lows, and ultimately, the unending hope that our students "took" something from our instruction.

This is our story- forged from the drive to score that "number," the work ethic to read a 1200 page book, and the patience to learn together for 184 class periods. For better or for worse, its a story written with no regrets.

And Now For the Interview...

Being engulfed by the "selfie" culture that we live in can prevent us from expressing gratitude for what we have. Whether I recognize them or not, there are countless moments during the course of the school year that should make me thankful for my job.  Some of those experiences are annual and stand out more than others- like working the job fair or participating on an interview team.

Everyone has a unique story about how he/she was hired. And we are the lucky ones. There are plenty of job seekers in our field- and plenty of experienced professionals chasing promotions or changes that crowd our job market.

The truth is, there was a time in our careers, when we were scratching and clawing to get to EXACTLY where we are now.

Since graduating from college, I have interviewed for 13 different jobs inside and outside of my district. I received three offers.  I don't claim to be an expert on interviewing. I don't have a monopoly on the ingredients to land a job and my personal statistics prove that!  I have gained, (I think), some perspective on interviewing and I think these 3 things are true:

1. There is no such thing as preparing too much, or too little. 

I think you can play this both ways. For some positions, it's important to anticipate questions and rehearse how you would answer them. Especially if you applying for a position that may be a stretch based on your qualifications. For new teachers, understanding the basics about the district and becoming a "playful pest" to keep your name in the conversation is important.

I know I have been guilty of coming across disingenuous from being over-prepared, over-thinking the questions, and over-selling myself. That's why I think for some candidates, it is important to just talk conversationally. Exude quiet confidence and let your personality shine through. Less is more in some cases. Do some research to show your interest but stay true to yourself. Find a median of preparation that gives you the confidence to shine.


2. Interviewing is not a "results based" entity.

Evaluating the interview's success or failure by the end result isn't necessarily fair. I think you can blow away an interview committee and still not receive a job offer-if you aren't exactly what they are looking for. Sometimes you can answer all the questions perfectly and maybe another candidate was more perfect. You are likely competing against dozens of well qualified candidates. The point is, you never know exactly why they hire who they do. Don't worry about the result. Process the process, and give it your best shot.

3. Que sera, sera.

I am lucky to have learned from some of the greatest mentors a guy could ask for. My #savmp mentor was my coach throughout my last round of interviews. What we worked on may or may not have helped my answers, but it definitely impacted my mindset. Tony Sinanis helped me realize that if you want something bad enough, it will happen...eventually. I've kept every rejection letter and email I have received over the past 8 years. I promise it's not an OCD or acrimonious practice, but merely a reminder that if it's meant to be, it will be. Those jobs were not meant to be. Trusting this idea is the hardest thing to do, especially if you experience a professional disappointment or cannot break through with that first job.

Interviewing is an imperfect science. I suppose there are some wrong answers, but I don't know if there are right ones either. What advice would you give someone who was interviewing for their dream job?

History Matters

I picked history because it was the subject I hated the least when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to teach. I knew I loved kids. I knew this was the right profession for me, but picking a subject area was the toughest part of getting started.

Luckily, in what I would consider a common experience for many of us, I fell in love with my subject matter because of a great teacher. It only took 20 years and countless hours of courses, but I knew what I wanted to teach.

 

Part of the allure of history and social studies, more generally, is how you can teach it. I feel for my math colleagues that are somewhat limited in how they can present their content. In social studies, almost anything goes. While we've been typecast as the "movie show-ers," and the boring story tellers, our discipline becomes more important and more relevant every day, in my opinion. The common core has tied social studies to critical thinking and writing skills that are crucial pieces of communication in life. The 1:1 initiative in many schools has opened so many instructional doors that its hard to keep up. The tech wave that's cresting was made for social studies. 

And while I've recently pushed my students towards current events involving the Donald Sterling tapes or the missing Malaysian airplane saga, I still come back to history. I love the strides social studies has made towards teaching what's really important for kids to know in the 21st century. We've replaced teaching the War of 1812 with the tragedy of September 11th. We talk about the Civil Rights Movement in context of the gay rights and immigration movements of today. We have to bring history to the present day and make it relevant for our students. Kids need those connections, but kids need history too.

I'm wrapping up my final year of teaching Advanced Placement United States History, a course that carries the reputation of being grudgingly difficulty and incredibly tedious. But in studying the highs and lows of our forefathers, I hope my students have felt the weight and importance of our country's past. 

History is rewarding. Dramatic. Restless. Puzzling. Romantic. Inspiring, And in some cases, unfair. 

What a parallel to life. 

Often times, we don't have to look far to find the passion behind what we teach. The importance of our subject matter and its relevance to who we are teaching gives us the answer every time.