The video linked below was making the rounds on social media last weekend. I’ll give you a minute to watch…or take as long as you want to watch it multiple times like I have.
Never once during the times I watched this video did I think: I wonder what her most recent STAR scores were? Or if she needed Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention. How’d she do on the Benchmark or CFA? Or what her growth projections were for next school year. Or if she did her homework first (pretty sure I know what she prioritizes outside of school). What I wondered is how she found something that gives her so much joy at such a young age. I wondered how many times she practiced those riffs. And I wondered, although I think I know, what her parents must think and feel.
In all that we are asked to do as professionals, let’s never forget who we do it for: Kids. Kids like Ellen. Our “Ellens” may never remember the early modern European history we taught that was so important to us. What I can guarantee, however, is that Ellen will never forget how she felt in our classrooms knowing that what was important to her was important to us.
Dr. Patrick Boyd 