Last week, Lucy Calkins posted a request on Facebook. She was working on her keynotes for upcoming TCRWP Institutes and posted this message: 
Just this plea for ideas and stories left me inspired… I can only imagine the power the actual keynote held.
This message from Lucy came right around the time when I found out that I’d be leading a district wide grade level meeting on the second to last day of school. I dreamed of sending this group of teachers off on their summer vacations with even just an ounce of “Lucy like” power.
Today was the grade level meeting. I was all set to meet with our district kindergarten teachers to celebrate the year and begin to look forward to the fall. I decided to borrow a bit of Lucy’s language to start the celebration piece. I asked teachers to take a few minutes to jot about moments that stood out from the year, those that made them think, “this is why I am here on earth.” (I gave Lucy all of the credit…of course.)
As teachers jotted, I brainstormed my own story. My moment came quickly as I recalled working in a kindergarten classroom, towards the end of the never-ending winter, with a student who preferred to shred anything he could get his hands on in order to avoid writing. When I looked through his shredded folder, there wasn’t much to find. I thought back to some recent work with our staff developer, about prioritizing goals for students- working within goals where students could find success and be independent. I realized this little guy didn’t know where to start. His only attempts at drawing were places where he had drilled black holes right through the paper.
“What do you know a lot about?” I remember asking him. Rephrasing and probing when he just sat shrugging his shoulders. I remember being amazed at how quickly this five year old had learned to avoid these kinds of interactions.
We finally settled on trucks. I pulled some paper from the printer, folded it in half and wrote Drawing Book on the cover. “Let me show you a really cool trick. Did you know you can draw so many really cool trucks using shapes like squares and circles?” I drew a vehicle naming the shapes as I drew.
“Want to try?” I asked, handing him the pencil, the air a bit thick as he looked at me and weighed his options. To my relief, he slowly accepted the invitation and worked to create his own truck.
We added a few more models to his drawing book before I realized it was time for me to head to a different classroom. I quickly filled his teacher in on what we had worked on together and then I left that day, not knowing if that work would stick.
Six weeks later, during an end of year RTI review meeting, our kindergarten team was asked to share work that made a difference for their students during the year. The teacher from the room with the little boy who had once preferred to shred paper talked about the work we had done together, finding the place where students could find independence with the work. How the shredding boy had gone on to draw with more independence and was even beginning to add labels to his picture on his own. He had become a writer.
These two tiny snippets of time, surrounded by hundreds of other moments where I question why my role matters, made me feel like this was why I was meant to be here, doing this work.
Back in our grade level meeting, I listened in as teachers began sharing their own moments in small groups. The smiles and pride beaming from their faces as they recalled their moments! A student who begged for a sleepover at his teacher’s house, loving pleas that told his teacher something was going right in the community she was fostering. Kids whose squiggles turned to letters and words on the page. Confidence in the curriculum, testimony of how far we have come.
This is the data that is tricky to capture on a spreadsheet, but valuable nonetheless.
What are your moments that make you think, “this is what I’m here on earth for?”
Where There Is Joy 
“This is the data that is tricky to capture on a spreadsheet, but valuable nonetheless.“. Now THIS is the truth. These stories are data in and of themselves. This is the data that empowers a child and that is priceless! Thanks for sharing this slice and yourself!
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What a beauty this is! To tackle that question and on the fly in front of a room of people?! You rock. I’ll be thinking of my own answer all day and I face the 2nd grade leaders tomorrow.
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A vital question for all of us to ponder, an excellent writing exercise. I have no doubt that you imparted your own insight, warmth, and power to the teachers, the same as you do for your students. The timing is indeed interesting -how you were inspired just as you needed to be, for the benefit of others. Goes beyond “Lucy-like” power. 🙂
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This post has me thinking about the importance of finding these kinds of moments. There are plenty of days that are hard, but these snippets make it worthwhile. Happy last day!
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It is so important for teachers to look on these positive moments. We are so quick to put our selves down as we quickly recall problems we had with students or parents. We forget to focus on the many positive moments and dwell instead on the one or two “failures.” I like that you gave the teachers the time to focus on the good days.
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I remember beginning a unit of poetry and the moans and groans from the kids. I would tell them every year that my goal by the end of the unit to turn those moans into cheers, or at least no more moaning. One year a very hard to reach little girl with lots of baggage, groaned the loudest. After sharing a wide range of poetry with her, we finally found some that sparked her own. She wrote two of the most beautiful poems I have ever written. She came back to me a few years later and was still writing.
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Your message is powerful. We can make a difference and we do when we can remember the child and their accomplishments and not the data! Thanks for sharing.
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What a powerful line: “This is the data that is tricky to capture on a spreadsheet, but valuable nonetheless.”
You are an inspiration and I wish more schools would end the year with this kind of data! To stop and take the time to celebrate these accomplishments is what will keep teachers teaching!
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You are a powerful writer! I loved your comment about “this is data that is tricky to capture on a spreadsheet”. This is so true and we have many moments with students that you can’t capture on spreadsheets everyday!
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This is the type of “data” that we all want to focus on as teachers. The times in our teaching that truly move us and make us say to ourselves “This is why I do what I do”. Thanks for sharing!
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Four years after retirement and a life-threatening dance with cancer, I finally had my “This is why I do what I do” moment. A letter was forwarded to me from my school district, written by a former ESL student whom I taught for about three years. She was a selective mute and displayed some autistic behaviors. It was really a challenge to get through to her, but I knew there was a very bright child inside that shell. She wrote to me to thank me “for bringing her into the world.” She had no idea how to communicate but I gave her the tools to do so. She is on her way to Notre Dame and is a self-described writer! This letter made my 22 years as an ESL teacher worth all the effort.
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I love everything about this post! What a great way to end the year – we all need to stop and celebrate these moments. And not let those moments pass us by! Your words remind me and all of us of the importance to collect that kind of “data” and to hang tight to it too!
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