So It Begins

The evening settled like a soft blanket on the Lincoln Memorial as Cassie hurried to get one more picture. Then … she just stood still. After a moment she turned, tears in her eyes, and quietly said, “This is amazing.” It was our first night in DC and Cassie was seeing this historic city for the first time. She has wandered the streets of London and Paris. Sipped wine in Vienna and Milan. Taken photos of the castle in Edinburgh and the gates at Dachau. And yet here, in front of the memorial to this gentle, humble, eloquent man, she wept. We would spend the next four days exploring the museums and monuments created to celebrate and contemplate the history of our American experiment. It was satisfying to watch my daughter experience this city for the first time because it reminded me how inspiring and conflicting our struggle for this American Dream has been. Father and daughter reflecting on the historic challenges we faced in the past and realizing the challenges we face now.

Like many others, I am weary of the ridiculous spectacle some of our elected officials have created here and at home in Wisconsin. Almost daily we learn how the officials who are supposed to represent us make a mockery of our country. Institutions that are the bedrock of our democracy and designed to look out for the “common good” are dismantled or corrupted. Everyday we are told our public schools are failing, the post office is a mess, we don't need to protect the environment, and on and on.  Walking around Washington, D.C. and reflecting on the people and events we celebrate here, I was reminded that America has faced similar challenges in the past. Each time we have weathered the crisis when decent, sensible, well-informed citizens came together to select representatives who understood the responsibility of public service and the critical role our public institutions have in helping all citizens. The one thing that gives me optimism for the future is the faith I have in our public schools and the teachers who work there.

I have the enormous good fortune to live with a veteran teacher and at this time of the year she has a familiar routine. It starts innocently enough. A few plastic containers collected in a grocery bag. Some new children’s books delivered in the mail. Soon, however, there are a few phone calls. Some text messages. A quick meeting at school. Before you know it, the kindergarten teacher in our family is in full “prep” mode. Jeanette is off to her classroom to “organize”. She reports that things are going well, but she needs some help moving the “bathtub”. The “bathtub”? The “antique bathtub”, I am told, is a perfect learning center to promote independent reading skills. We slide it into perfect position under the draping canopy. With the comfy pillows placed just right, I can see why a kindergartener would love this “reading center”.  It is important for you to know it is still weeks before school will officially begin, but this is routine for Jeanette and many, many other classroom teachers.  This has been a way of life for Jeanette over her 31-year career.

Like many others, she is a dedicated professional educator. She will smile politely when she hears adults say, “Oh, it takes a special talent to work with the little ones.” In private she will say, “What kind of “special” talent does it take for a teacher to be thoughtful, compassionate, caring, aware, informed, and organized? Those are basic skills.” Don’t misunderstand. There are lots of people who don’t possess the basic skills to be a competent teacher, but Jeanette is reluctant to admit that she has “special talents”.  If you watch Jeanette work in her classroom, as I have for many years, you will see that her “special talent” is her uncanny ability to help kids and parents find comfort and confidence in her classroom. The fact that she also carefully selects appropriate strategies to develop academic and social skills is almost secondary. As this new school year begins, I want my friends and former colleagues working in school to realize how much our society depends on the complicated, exhilarating, and, yes, sometimes frustrating work you do.

You don’t need me to explain why your work is so important. Read Thomas Jefferson or Abe Lincoln. Maybe Ted Sizer or John Dewey. Or just go back and re-read all those notes and letters you received from former students and their parents. Just know that we need you to demonstrate to our children that our society has grappled with difficult problems before and we have made things better. As long as we have people who are educated and enlightened, we have demonstrated that we can make positive changes in our world.

The monuments in Washington are not the only symbols of our democratic achievements. Every public school building in every city, town, or hamlet is a living monument to the idea of “a more perfect union”. I hope you have another successful year.

A poem:

Look for Me

Ted Kooser

Look for me under the hood
of that old Chevrolet settled in weeds
at the end of the pasture.

I'm the radiator that spent its years
bolted in front of an engine
shoving me forward into the wind.

Whatever was in me in those days
has mostly leaked away,
but my cap's still screwed on tight

and I know the names of all these
tattered moths and broken grasshoppers
the rest of you've forgotten.