OK - so maybe, just maybe you will find a picture of me under the definition of gullible in the dictionary. But I really did want to believe that the student featured in the last post was genuine - that he created and delivered the speech because he believed. Turns out - he didn't.
But in reading that post and the comments that followed I started to think about what really hit me about that clip. Sure, that kid was a powerful speaker. And yes - it was a great way to start a new school year. But more than that - the message was that we should believe in our students and in each other. Does it really matter that someone else wrote that speech? Does it really matter that he practiced since June to deliver it?
He believed he could do it - he wins contests in public speaking. Somewhere along the way - lots of people did believe in him.
So - if you ignore the nay-sayers out there and the people who say it was a sad display of marketing and get down to the core of the message for educators: Do YOU believe?
Do you walk into your classroom each morning believing in the potential of the students who are sitting there? ALL of them?
Do you believe in your colleagues and their ability to reach and teach - not just their students but each other? ALL of them?
Do you believe in your administration - from principal to superintendent - and their ability to lead your building, your district? ALL of them?
And most importantly- do you believe in yourself? Believe that you make a difference? That what you do matters each and every since day? ALL of them?
And if you don't - why is that? Why aren't you doing something to restore that faith in yourself, your students, your profession? Teaching can be absolutely exhausting. And it can be the most rewarding thing that a person does. I believe in you - why don't you?
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