Ah, the blame game. My students would do better if the teachers they had last year taught them more, their parents were more involved, we have more money to spend on them. I have what I have and I am given the students I am given…I can find excuses for why they aren’t performing at the highest levels or I can look for ways to help them achieve more. I choose to look for ways to help them achieve more.
I like the idea of thinking of myself as the board, rather than a single chess piece. When I am in a situation that I am not happy with or frustrated I should look at where I am and how I got there…then determine what I can do to change the place that I am in.
Excellent CommIntary….the blame game should be abandoned by all. It is a game of the weak, not the strong. Amanda, you are strong, only the courageous can take the “I” approach. What can I do? How can I help?
ReplyDeleteIt’s obvious that you do not play the blame game for sure but life is more enjoyable and the load is lighter when life is approached with a “WE.” Partner yourself with others who are just as courageous and are like minded. My hope is that as you continue, the I will morph into WE and you can say:
We can look for ways to help….
We choose to look for ways to help them achieve more….
Here’s a quote I was reminded of when reading your commentary:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
What, me blame my self? When there are so many other people we can choose to blame? Aw, that doesn't sound like much fun! Seriously, you are right. I had to write a letter to Joe a week ago, putting blame on me for not seeing that discussion 1 and 2 were different, even though the titles were the same. I thought he had made a mistake and had just done 1 two times. BUT, who can you blame when you didn't actually check it out and find out they were different? Oh yes, that would be ME! I could only blame me. It made me mad, too, as I hate not making a 100%, especially since I could have and would have made a 100% IF I HAD CHECKED IT OUT! But no, I blamed Joe for making a mistake.
ReplyDeleteBut, to be fair, I wrote him and told him of my mistake and my blame. Yes, we need to learn this. Fortunately for me, one thing that helps me in this is I can't lie. I have tried, but everyone knows I can't lie and I'm horrible at it. Just ask me to lie about something and watch me. I have found life is so much easier, in this area, to not lie and just face the blame. Maybe the kids will figure it out one day.
Funny how great minds think alike. My blog runs similar course as yours because our thinking runs similar path in that we, as educators, need to change our focus into what will happen from this point versus what happened before. We can't undo what was done but we can lay an excellent framework from here. As you stated, we can either make excuses or we can change the situation.
ReplyDelete