Superpowers and Change

When I was little, I wore Wonder Woman underwear.

They don't fit me now, but it seems that sometimes I am attributed with Wonder Woman powers. Not the flying kind...but the saving the day kind.



It is true that I have strong powers of focus and a speedy mind. I think I can get more out of an hour than some people can get out of a day.  I also hope that I have strong powers of heart. My conscience drives me. Sometimes my mom worries that I do too much. I do what I do, usually, because I believe it is right.

Therefore, I can understand why it might make sense for a school administration to call on its Superheroes to jump in to help out when another school has a beloved teacher leaving. When kids are sad that their favorite Quest teacher is not going to finish the year, wouldn't it be great to have a Superhero-- or two?--- come in to save the day?

I love teaching and I love my students. I have been asked to come in to save the day, splitting my time between my current school and the younger school that feeds into mine.  

I am not Wonder Woman. I am a teacher who works hard and loves her students. I am a teacher who doesn't just teach six periods a day, but who is there in-between the classes because learning happens whenever it happens. Learning doesn't happen on a clock. Learning is not a Pavlovian response that happens between bells.  I guide my students and colleagues to learn whenever and wherever.

I waited until now to share my feelings, because I thought there would be an announcement made to families. But rumors about this not-quite Wonder Woman spread so fast that even I learned from the rumor mill, before the administration could tell me.  Perhaps the truly supersonic force in this story is the speed of that grapevine.

By now, I know the word is out.  So yes, this not-quite Wonder Woman will be going to two schools. I cannot be the beloved colleague who helps each and every beloved child. Likewise, I cannot work the same magic I worked in one school when pulled to two schools. But I will do my best to fill the world with love and learning. 

Maybe Love and Learning really are superpowers after all.   I just hope they are enough to give me the ability to achieve the superhuman challenges in front of me.

Comments

  1. Emily, To state this as being poorly handled by the administration is an understatement. You're a superhuman but superpowers work most of the time and not all of the time. The students in both schools are the ones that are losing in the bargain. It's a superloss for us and hopefully the administration will communicate officially and listen, with an open mind, to the concerns of impacted parents.

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