Pay it Forward

8/26/09 Phonics materials, given away

Teachers are notorious hoarders. Most of us are deathly afraid of getting rid of anything that might prove useful in the future. It makes sense. Teaching is all about the future. Working every day to help children grow into adults we'll likely never meet.

We had our district opening ceremony yesterday. At the start of each school year, our superintendent orchestrates an entertaining and inspirational presentation. Part of this year's ceremony was a video about many of the ways that people in our district go above and beyond the call of duty to help others. The mini-movie had clips from the Kevin Spacey film Pay It Forward. Sure, it was a tad hokey, but it also worked. I was pumped up and ready to begin the year.

My office is cramped and cluttered, so any downsizing that can also be classified (however lamely) as paying it forward is a double win. Today I gave one of my favorite colleagues, Deb Olmstead, a container of kindergarten phonics materials that I've had for several years. Deb is a kindergarten expert and her job is much more focused than mine on helping K-kids directly every day. I hadn't used those things in over a year, so it made sense for me to get them into the hands of someone who will.

And, even if Deb doesn't use them anytime soon, I KNOW she'll save them for the future.