Hope for our Public Schools

On May 6th, President Obama sent an email that told the story of his favorite teacher.  He wrote, 

"I credit my education to Ms. Mabel Hefty just as much as I would any institution of higher learning.

When I entered Ms. Hefty's fifth-grade class at Punahou School in the fall of 1971, I was just a kid with a funny name in a new school, feeling a little out of place, hoping to fit in like anyone else. The first time she called on me, I wished she hadn't. In fact, I wished I were just about anywhere else but at that desk, in that room of children staring at me.

But over the course of that year, Ms. Hefty taught me that I had something to say -- not in spite of my differences, but because of them. She made every single student in that class feel special. And she reinforced that essential value of empathy that my mother and my grandparents had taught me. That is something that I carry with me every day as President.

This is the simple and undeniable power of a good teacher. This is a story that every single kid in this country, regardless of background or station in life, should be able to tell."

In that email, he also encouraged citizens to write back with their own stories.  Since I had just made the decision to leave my teaching job, I decided to write him back.  I haven't heard from him and I didn't really expect to, but it felt good to have a context to share my thoughts about teaching and learning.  This is what I wrote:

Dear Mr. President,

I really enjoyed your story about Ms. Mabel Hefty.  I have so many teachers that taught me important lessons that changed my life and they have my eternal gratitude and admiration.  My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Betty Zapp, taught me about a big, exciting world that I wanted to see firsthand and ignited my passion for travel and adventure.  My eleventh grade English teacher, Mr. Tomm Evans, taught me to believe in myself and my abilities and inspired me to pursue teaching as a career.  My favorite college professor, Dr. Agnes Cardoni, fostered my passion for helping others and encouraged me to make a difference for students.  All of my teachers gave me invaluable gifts and supported me in all ways and, without their guidance; I would not be who I am today.

Thanks to these remarkable individuals, I became a teacher.  However, I recently made one of the most difficult decisions of my entire life - I have decided to leave a profession and employer that I love dearly. I am a public school teacher in a great district full of brilliant professionals and the most amazing students and, after eleven years, I made the choice to leave.

The entire public school system in this state and throughout the United States is very broken because it is based on an antiquated, industrial model and managed by people who are too far removed from the realities of the classroom.  Consequently, I can no longer support mandated programs and illogical initiatives that I don't believe in because I want to be part of the solution instead of supporting the problem.

Unlike many others who are leaving their teaching jobs way before they reach retirement age, I don't plan on finding a new line of work and I am actually leaving before I burn out and fall victim to helplessness and cynicism. I intend to help make things better and, for that, I will need my passion intact. I will create more ways and find new opportunities to teach the fundamentals that have been marginalized in schools across the country and I will also help find, support, and create programs and initiatives that educate individuals intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

Although this is clearly a professional journey, it is also very personal.  I am a public education success story and it breaks my heart to know that my story would probably have a very different ending if I was a product of this current educational system.

In your book, you talk about "reclaiming the American Dream" and, in many ways, I am the American Dream. From very humble beginnings in a small backwoods town, I fell in love with learning at a young age, achieved things that often seemed impossible, and had opportunities I could barely fathom as a child.

School was always my favorite place to be and with some inspiration and encouragement from the stellar teachers that I referenced earlier, I became the first person in my family to graduate (with honors) and go on to higher education.

College was just as amazing as I hoped it would be and, as much as I enjoyed learning about anything and everything, I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to be a teacher.

My goal had nothing to do with summers off, benefits, contract details, politics, or even my affinity for books and office supplies - I wanted to become a teacher because I wanted to empower other young people to love learning and believe in themselves the way that my teachers empowered me.

I have found that it is nearly impossible to explain the feelings of pride and accomplishment that came the day that I stood in front of my first class knowing how far I had come to make my dream a reality. Consequently, I did everything I could think of to convey that message to my students because I knew what was possible for each and every one of them if they focused, worked hard, and believed in themselves.

I always ended up learning way more from my students than I could ever teach them, but together we accomplished a lot and I will never forget the lessons, projects and conversations that changed how we all saw the world.  My identity as a teacher is one I am most proud of because I believe that when someone is doing something that they are passionate about in a context that is meaningful, supportive, and encouraging, anything is possible.

This was my 11th year as a public school employee and unfortunately the possibilities appear to be much more limited.  Globalization is a major force that does not mesh well with increasing education mandates, teacher accountability measures, and the emphasis on standardized testing.  This epic mashup has created a new context that is not very meaningful, supportive, or encouraging.

I am only 33 years old and I have decided to leave the dream job that I worked so hard to obtain. This decision was not easy - I really did work for the most amazing district, I had the most talented and dedicated colleagues and the students are the best.

However, the reality of the situation is that I can’t see myself engaging with the increasing standardization and “accountability” for much longer before it completely breaks my spirit as it has done for so many of the best teachers across the country. I wholeheartedly believe that we can combat the ill effects standardization if we can emphasize and foster compassion, creativity, and confidence in students and in teachers, but the sad truth is that those key elements of teaching and learning are no longer the focus for public education.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t understand politics as much as I probably should and I doubt you really have the time to understand education from a pedagogical perspective, but we are both parents. As a parent, I do not want my son to be subjected to a battery of tests so his abilities can be quantified into a bunch of charts and graphs that compare him to his peers while placing way more emphasis on his weaknesses than on his strengths. I also don’t want him to have to learn from teachers who are obligated to see him as data because their livelihood is contingent on their ability to move his little dot to a new place on the graph.

As a teacher, I obviously do not want those things for any student. I want my son and all children to be looked at as unique and multi-faceted beings that can’t be quantified or plotted on a graph. I want them to celebrate their strengths and use them to improve upon their weaknesses, I want them to learn about kindness, compassion, and respect, and I want them to have the freedom to imagine new possibilities and explore new innovations. More than anything, I want them to have the meaningful connections with others that you and I experienced with our teachers because those connections changed my life in all the ways that truly matter.

Basically, I want them to have an experience similar to the one that your daughters have at their school. I know your daughters attend a private school and I don’t blame you for that because their safety and security are important and, quite frankly, most people I know would send their kids to school like that if they could afford it. Since that is not possible for the vast majority of the people in the United States, I’m sure you see the inequity and feel that burden as our leader. We both know that the differences really don’t have to be that extreme, but it is going to take a lot to change things at this point.

For a long time, I naively believed that I could “be the change” and encourage other teachers to focus on their important work with hope and optimism while we weather this storm together, but the more I experience, the more impossible and hypocritical that plan starts to seem.

Even just a few years ago it seemed to be a lot easier to view standardized testing and other illogical mandates as a minor inconvenience that was necessary to secure important funding. I vividly remember encouraging my high school students to sleep well, eat a good breakfast, and take the test seriously so they wouldn’t need to take any unnecessary remediation courses.

I don’t remember the hyper-vigilance or the tangible fear and anxiety that is present now for both students and teachers. Clearly, a lot has changed and those changes have fostered an educational environment that fails to properly educate our children while forcing teachers to choose between best practices and their sanity.

Consequently, I no longer want to watch as dedicated and passionate teachers burn out trying to jump through impossible and invisible hoops to prove their worth while students experience everything from boredom to defeat as they constantly try to fit themselves into a one-size-fits-all mold that fails to address their spirits, their interests, their abilities, or their potential.

I want to help shift the conversation back to all of the good things that happen every day under the most challenging conditions and, more than anything, I want to advocate for change.  I want to encourage respect and autonomy for the well-educated professionals who wake up every morning aware of the hoops and molds because they are the Ms. Heftys, the Ms. Zapps, and the Mr. Evans that everyone needs in order to grow as scholars and as people.

I believe in teachers and I love and admire the ones who will continue to make a difference and fight the good fight, but my purpose in this life is to empower others to love learning and to believe in themselves and I no longer feel that I am able to do that as well on a consistent basis as a public school employee.

I will always be a teacher and I will always work with young people, but it is time for me to practice what I preach. I don’t feel right telling kids to follow their bliss and blaze trails while I choose to play small and remain stuck in a broken system because I’m afraid to leave comfort and security in order to accomplish bigger, better, and more meaningful ways of educating young people.

One part of the American Dream is overcoming obstacles and improving our lot in life, but another, more significant portion is the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

For me, happiness comes from serving others and educating them in ways that lead to their happiness and highest good. So, now that I have found the courage, faith, and determination to take this leap, I intend to leverage my many strengths and passions to find more new ways to help others subvert or recover from the educational experiences that are leading to an epidemic of negativity, apathy, anxiety, depression, hyper-vigilance, addiction and disconnection.

The beauty and obligation of the American Dream is that it is always evolving and can mean a million different things to a million different people based on each unique identity and I know I’m not alone in my desire to bring that back as a cornerstone of our educational philosophy.

One day, when education reform actually becomes an education revolution, I hope to return to a classroom full of eager young minds that understand a bigger picture and dream bigger dreams – a classroom like you had at Punahou School. For now, I will continue as a vocal advocate for compassion, creativity, and confidence - the heart of learning.

Would you like to join me?

With gratitude,

Patty McLain :o)

Compassion in the Classroom #1000Speak

Positive is Powerful was born two years ago as I began to develop my ideas about the challenges in public education because I knew that I wanted to encourage and inspire change.  Since then, a lot of remarkable adventures have been detailed on this blog.  Together they have all increased my passionate belief that the three C's of compassion, creativity, and confidence are just as important for students of all ages as the traditional R's of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Actually, after watching the students create their HOPE movement and seeing their creativity, confidence and compassion in action, I would argue that an emphasis on social and emotional learning serves a much bigger purpose than rote memorization and standardized testing because it is impossible to quantify teaching and learning.

Teachers don't teach curriculum, they teach students and, even though that keeps getting increasingly more challenging, the students who accomplish the greatest things tend to cite personal connections much more frequently than textbooks and exams.

Take a minute to think about your own experiences with school from preschool through the end of your formal education.

What do you remember?

I'm willing to bet that there are a lot more names, faces, and experiences popping into your head right now than worksheets and formulas and that is because humans are social creatures.  For a majority of people, the most meaningful learning happens when we feel connected, accepted, and encouraged - basically, when we experience compassion.

If the young people that I am fortunate to interact with could gain something from their brief time with me, I would would much rather help them understand how much they matter than help them differentiate between an infinitive and a gerund.  Our world needs more loving and compassionate people, and if verbal phrases ever come up in the real world (outside of Jeopardy and Trivia Crack), there are plenty of valid resources available at the click of a button.

Sure, a person can Google compassion just as easily as they can Google any other information, but the difference is in application because compassion is much more than an idea - it is something that can't truly be understood until it is experienced in action.

Similarly, the magic that happens when the students engage with their HOPE movement needs to be experienced before it can be completely understood.  This week, forty-nine teenagers were able to feel what happens when someone does small things with kindness, love, and compassion.  On Wednesday, teens were able to enter 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms to talk to the younger students about hope and kindness with some help from Kid President, Pharrell Williams, and a lot of construction paper hearts.

They sang, danced, shared their personal stories, laughed, encouraged creativity, and went out of their way to interact with as many individual kids as they could in order to share their ideas.  We will never know the full impact of the interactions - for the high school students or the young ones.  Although, even if the experience ended that day, the smiles and insights we saw made us all feel a level of compassion for ourselves and others that can certainly change the world.

Since the HOPE movement is so experiential and uncommon, there are plenty of critics and naysayers who feel that there is no point, that the students and teachers are wasting their time and breath with "fluffy" ideas, and that it takes away from critical class time that should be spent preparing for exams and collecting data.  Interestingly, those people and their negativity no longer impact me like they used to because this adventure and the young people who created it have taught me that those negative people need compassion more than just about anyone else.

Aside from learning that the people who seem to deserve compassion the least need it the most, I've also learned that so many classroom challenges are much more social and emotional than they are intellectual.  Obviously, this is not a new idea, but it is one that educators focus on with small children and then tend to abandon somewhere around high school.  

So, as I add my voice and my blog to the 1000s of others sharing stories of compassion on the Internet today, I would like to end this with a challenge.  If you're reading this, take a few minutes to think about what compassion means to you and to talk about those ideas with an important young person in your life.  Together, you can take those thoughts and do something to help others and we can all create a ripple of hope that will undoubtedly change the world.

I would love to hear what you come up with, so please leave me a comment, send me a Tweet @PattyMcLain, or email me at MrsMcLainPV@gmail.com!

Sandy Hook HOPE

Almost one year ago, I created this blog because I feel very passionately about positivity and I wanted to share that passion with others.  After working on the initial project proposal, many students at my school began to speak up and explain how strongly they felt about the need for kindness and positivity in their lives and in the world and their work became a district wide movement that we refer to as HOPE.  

Initially, a lot of the work was inspired by the collective emotional reaction to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School because so many students and teachers wanted to send hope and love to Connecticut.  As you can see from the other posts, the students' ideas expanded and changed, but their mission has remained connected to the universal ideas of kindness, acceptance, hope, and love.

In honor of tomorrow's anniversary, we would all like to remember the 26 Sandy Hook angels by encouraging everyone to perform acts of kindness and we would also like to send a collective message of HOPE to the families who posted this request online -

In order to do this, our high school will be having a Kindness Contest! 

Faculty, staff, and administrators will be taking notice of student acts of kindness throughout the week next week and will be rewarding them with a ‘Kindness Referral’ to show that the PV Bears care.  Students can also submit pictures and stories or nominate friends by emailing HOPE@pvbears.org or by using the tag #sandyhookhope when they post online. 

The completed referral forms will be collected and entered into a drawing at our annual school wide Volleyball Tournament on Friday December 20th.  The winning student will receive a breakfast with friends, the teacher who nominated them will have coverage for their duty for an entire week, and all stories and pictures will be compiled and submitted to the Newtown Kindness Organization in honor of the lives lost last December.

What can you do to spread and encourage kindness this week?  

Post your thoughts and suggestions in the comment section below and don't forget to share your stories and pictures online so others can do the same! #sandyhookhope 

The Children are Our Future

I believe the children are our future.

Teach them well and let THEM lead the way.

Show them all the beauty they possess inside.

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier.

Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be...

~ Lyrics by Michael Masser and Linda Creed ~

I was never really a huge fan of Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All"...until a remarkable group of students and teachers demonstrated what is possible when we teach the children well and let them lead the way. Ever since the students and staff of an entire school district came together to promote their vision of HOPE, the 1980's hit has become one of my favorite songs. Now, every time I hear it, it reminds me to be grateful for so many things. Not only did the students' passion and determination remind me how I used to be, but I also had the privilege of learning alongside them and together we were able to see the beauty and feel a sense of pride.

This year, in response to a project proposal that was the initial post on this blog, my colleagues and I challenged our students to “be the change” they wish to see at school and in the world. So far, they have gone above and beyond anything we ever imagined. The students began their own movement to create and sustain positive change and they refer to their message as HOPE. In just a few short months, they successfully embodied their positive messages while sharing them with all students throughout the entire district, they have also reminded a lot of people about the true purpose of education, and the best part is that they are just getting started!

Basically, the students are leading the way by encouraging their peers of all ages to embrace the qualities that make them “awesome” as individuals and to realize that those same qualities can be leveraged to create unity as a group who wants to help others and make the world a better place. They did not form a club or set up any sort of specific guidelines for participation, but they collectively created a positive voice for the student body and their message was heard loud and clear. This blog and the embedded links highlight some of their stellar accomplishments, so I hope you can take a few minutes to learn more about these amazing kids because our world is full of so many others just like them!

They are our future.

They are the change we all want to see in the world.

Dream Big and Be Your Best Self!

For the past few weeks, our positive posse has been taking HOPE on the road and the resulting phenomenon has completely reinforced and expanded the intent of my first blog post.  If you have been following this adventure, you know that we really wanted to show the students that they could make a difference by leveraging their unique passions and abilities in order to help others and they have not only learned that lesson, they have been teaching it to other kids!

Very diverse groups of students in grades 9-12 have gone on trips to each of the four other buildings in our school district (two elementary schools, an intermediate school, and a middle school) to teach and spread their message of HOPE.  Although the specifics of the lesson plans changed accordingly for each level, the students were able to keep the big ideas the same.  The big questions that the high school students asked at each level were -

• What makes you awesome?
• What does hope mean to you?
• How can you help others?
• Who encourages you?

Consequently, each student in grades K-8 has had an opportunity to celebrate what makes them unique and awesome as individuals and to think about how they can use their individuality to help create unity by helping others.  The ideas of individuality and unity were enhanced with gratitude as everyone was inspired to thank the people who were encouraged them and, most importantly, everyone involved was able to have fun while learning a lot.

One of the most remarkable things that I learned as a witness on these trips was the importance of trusting and believing in all of the students.  Their positivity and compassionate approach to younger students made everyone feel important and appreciated and those affirmations will continue to have an impact on everyone who was involved.  Interestingly, a reciprocal relationship developed between the high school students and the younger students because they were able to learn from and inspire each other.  I am so grateful that I was able to see the magic that happens when an 11th or 12th grader colors with an Kindergardener, when a freshman who was recently bullied dances to inspirational lyrics with a 7th grader, or when a 10th grader gets down on their hands and knees to paint or color with sidewalk chalk.  One high school student student even told me that they think that everyone should take some time out to reconnect with their inner child and remember the good, simple, and important things in life!  I agreed.

Personally, my favorite lesson this week came from a 3rd grader who announced in a very matter-of-fact way that the best way to help someone who is having trouble is to tell them to "Dream big and be your best self!"  After I finished marveling at the fact that the best advice I'd received in a very long time came from such an unexpected place, I realized that the wise little girl was only reminding me what I already knew - these kids are the change that our world needs and I'm so happy to that my friends and I are able to help them on their journey!

Please continue to follow this adventure, share this blog with teachers, parents, and students who want to help make the world more awesome, and leave us some love in the comments below!

The Infinite Nature of HOPE

It has been a little while since I've shared an update with our audience outside of PV and that is because the students' vision of HOPE has continued to grow and take on a life of its own.  My entire positive posse of friends and colleagues learns from these amazing kids every day and it has been one of the most exciting and fulfilling adventures of my entire life!

So far, they have been featured on two different local newscasts that you can watch here:

http://wnep.com/2013/04/09/students-message-of-hope-spreads-beyond-school-walls/

Aside from the commentary from the local news and this blog, students, teachers, parents and administrators have all given their voices to the “HOPE” movement and many individuals have really done a stellar job summing up the magic. 
A senior boy, Jack, succinctly explained the concept to one of our service clubs; he said, “HOPE isn’t a club, a class or a project – it is something that everyone has and all you have to do to get involved is figure out what it means to you.  Once you know what hope means to you, you just have to use that to help others and make things better”.  Another student also explained why they couldn't create a step-by-step manual for getting new people involved because they felt that specific instructions would limit the possibilities, so they just keep encouraging everyone to reflect and determine what works best for them.
Rocco Seiler, an administrator who has believed in our vision and our mission from the beginning also explained the bigger picture when he said, “This initiative isn’t just a school thing and it is affecting more than just our local community.  People are living it… Everyone wants HOPE and positivity in their lives regardless of the situation that they are in!!!”.  
Sarah Rusnock, a teacher in our middle school recently sent a message that said, “I really think the HOPE brings the Pleasant Valley community together.  It is something that we all share and it is what we all have in common.  We all want the best for ourselves.  Staying positive, we are able to achieve those results.  We all have to help each other in order to help ourselves.  I always felt PV lacked community due to geography and culture, but HOPE connects us.” 
Although these sentiments really reflect the big ideas, the heartfelt thanks from students and parents and the overwhelming support from administrators at all levels, teachers, and support staff have provided more than enough testimony that the smallest ideas and actions can make the biggest difference. 

What is all this "HOPE" stuff?

Since so many people keep asking me for more details about my recent posts and the colorful t-shirts I always seem to be wearing, I thought I would share my answers from a recent interview...

Can you describe the symbolism behind the t-shirts that were made?
I believe the students might be better spokespeople, but the basic premise of the t-shirt is a willingness to create and sustain positive change. The symbol that replaces the “O” stands for a willingness to create positive change and there is a piece missing out of one finger as a reminder that there is a void that each person can fill. The infinity symbol is a part of the “E” because the students do not want this to be referred to as a project because projects end and they would like their classmates and friends to continue to “be the change” that they wish to see in the world because hope, love, and happiness are truly infinite...If you are actually more interested in an explanation of what the shirt means and not the specific symbolism, that answer is a little different. Since the shirt is so symbolic, it can mean a wide variety of things and that was the intent because it allows each person who buys and wears one to really think about what hope means to them while reminding them to be the change.

What are your thoughts on the new group Positive is Powerful?
First, I need to clarify that there really is no group (although I am happy that this catch phrase is a reference to my blog title which I got from my friend Rocco's bracelet). Students from almost every club are starting to get involved as well as students working on projects in various classes and a few students who just heard about it from a friend or teacher and want to help. The best way that I can describe the student reaction and involvement is to refer to it as a movement, but more than anything, it is really still just an idea.

Can you tell me a little bit about what this group is about?
Basically, the students who are involved are about making PV, the community, and the world more awesome. Many of the students involved really agreed with the messages in Kid President’s Pep Talk and they want to use their own unique interests and abilities to “give the world a reason to dance.”

What do you want to see this club achieve?
I want the students who are involved to get more students, teachers, and people in the community involved so that they can all support one another in achieving any goal that helps them express love, hope, and compassion for themselves and for other people.

Who came up with the idea to form this group?
Honestly, there were so many people heading in this direction simultaneously, I don’t think anyone can take credit for being the catalyst. However, I can say that the idea wouldn’t have grown and the movement would have started without a lot of very diverse students who all felt very passionately about the need for a positive change and who knew that they would need to “be the change” if they wanted others to believe in and join them.

Why do you want to spread the word about being positive?
You can learn the details about my idea on my blog athttp://positiveispowerful.blogspot.com/, especially in my first post from January entitled “Be the Change” where I reference the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the main reason that I want to help more people be positive is because positive energy has changed my life and the lives of my closest friends for the better in a lot of significant ways. I believe it helped my husband beat Stage IV cancer, it has helped me create and maintain an amazing life, and most importantly, it is really the only way to counteract and overcome all of the negativity in our world today.

How do you stay positive?
Usually when people ask me why I smile all the time and why I am always so positive, I say that it’s because I have so much to be happy about in my life. Interestingly, the people who know me well know that I have endured quite a few tragedies and overcome a lot of challenges and adversity in my life, so they also know that I passionately believe that happiness is a choice we make. Every day I wake up and I have two options - I can choose to be positive or I can choose to be negative. I choose to be positive, live with gratitude, and love with everything I have and when you make a choice like that, a perpetual smile is easy to maintain :o)

If you are interested in learning more, buying a t-shirt or getting involved, please feel free to contact me... or just go out with a smile on your face and be kind to everyone you encounter ♥