One message that was driven home for me over and over during the course of the Downsizing Challenge was that the journey is just as important as the destination.
This fact hung in my mind today as we launched a brand new school here in Denver. We opened the doors of SOAR Charter School to 240 eager kindergarten, first, and second grade students and their families.
I could go on and on about what makes SOAR different from a traditional public school or why I am so excited to be a part of it, but it is most easily summed up by this:
The journey is just as important as the destination.
In an age of school accountability in which school performance is measured in one way (by a narrow set of standardized test scores), it is an act of subversion to say that HOW we teach matters. To say, "Yes we will teach our children to score well on those tests but we will not sacrifice their dignity, their autonomy, their creativity to do so," is a radical call to action.
Just call us radicals.
At our school, the most important question a parent can ask their child isn't "What did you learn today?" but, rather, "How did you feel about your learning today?"
How the children get to the end of their school careers is just as important as what they know when they get there.
Likewise, a year ago I could have torn through my house, found 365 things I could live without, and lugged them off to the dump. There, a year of downsizing in just one afternoon.
But, of course, such an action would have completely missed the point. Indeed, throughout the year, I met several people who, after hearing about the challenge, said something like, "Oh, I do that, too. Every spring I get rid of a bunch of stuff."
Which is to say that THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY CONNECTED TO THE DOWNSIZING CHALLENGE. To commit to a process, to say I shall make this a part of my daily life and learn and grow and change because of it is completely different than just throwing a big pile of stuff out.
The Downsizing Challenge was a wonderful way for me to get in touch with my life journey over the course of the year. The fact that I rid myself of some PEZ dispensers, firewood, or a record collection really doesn't matter.
What matters is that I've had a heck of a lot of fun along the way.
As I know I've posted in the past, the thing that I am most impressed with about the downsizing challenge was the daily dose of writing. This piece is the icing.
ReplyDeleteI know you've dipped your toe into the craft several times in the past. At some point in the future, though, I think you will need to transition from a writer to a Writer. I know you are pulled in many directions and your days are probably about as full as they can be. But I think it would be a missed opportunity if, some day, you didn't jump in with both feet, and as you so eloquently put it, "commit to the process."
(And you can always count on me to be an early reader.)
I jumped to post a comment and found crm had most eloquently expressed acknowledgement of, and expectation from, the promise made obvious in your 365 days of creativity. Pay attention.
ReplyDeleteGreatly appreciate these words of encouragement, although I think I might wait to officially launch my writing career until after we get through the first month of the new school.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder about what hooked me on the downsizing challenge. Connecting with one of my favorite cousins during a year that included the birth of your son and a move across the country became a daily time that I treasured. As I am on my journey, I thank you for sharing your original idea. I am convinced that your by sharing your "original" take on school you will impact numerous students over the years and leave them better for it!
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