"According to Expectation"

A little more on my teaching days... I only taught school for three years, until they ran out of money and layed off 35 teachers to make up the budget. By accident I went into construction and carried all my teaching ideas with me. I always made "lesson plans", daily goals and how to reach them and whether it is putting a roof on or getting a kid to read a book, the process is the same, and it is really very simple. If I thought my crew couldn't do the job they never did; if I thought the child wouldn't read the book, they never did. My expectations as a teacher and as a construction foreman were always huge. I actually prefered the rowdie kids, the trouble makers, those with an abundance of energy, those that made a point of hating school. There was a lot of energy there and I made it my job to channel it.
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are surely right". That is one of my favorite quotations and I am sorry to say I don't even know who said it! It is like "The Little Engine that Could" from my childhood days, "I think I can, I think I can" and eventually you will.

Attitude!

An attitude is hard to teach. My second year of teaching in a Junior High School

I was given two class of rowdie kids, children who only knew failure in their other classes and maybe in their lives. These kids, about thirteen years old were marked and now grouped as one class and my instructions were to teach them anything I wanted, just keep them under control and away from the principal's office. I was officially "the History Teacher", teaching American, Russian, and Indian History

but I wasn't restricted to this; I could do anything, just keep them out of more trouble was my job.

In an earlier Blog I mention my youth and a little printing press that was given me and the effect it had on me and I so wanted to replicate this experience. The class had no funding and no resourses so I went around hunting for donations and found lots of support. I acquired two printing presses and fifty fonts of type, litterally about a million pieces! I ordered the absolute

most expensive papers I could find and had six colors of indelible ink. This was not children's

ink, this was ink that would never come off! The other teachers thought I was absolutely nuts and predicted mayham and defeat for this beginning teacher! to make a long story short,

These classes were a wonderful success! The kids printed perfect calling cards and quickly went on to poetry adding linoleum cuts illustration. Always aware the class was an experiment

and could be shut down, they were extremely respectful of the equipment and supplies. Many

found success for the first time in their lives and continued this attitude into their other classes.

They wanted to work through the lunch period on their projects and I informed them that "school policy" mandated that when I wasn't there the room was supposed to be empty and the door locked. I read this rule to them and reflected that this policy didn't mention windows!

Often I would return from lunch and there would be 30 kids in the room, all responsibly working

and even aiding each other on their projects!

Attitude comes from experience and it is really very easy to teach success!