It’s time to launch a brand new school year. I open iPhoto
to flip through images hoping to be inspired by antics past. I click through
until I spy little Taylor with two of his elementary home school buddies, “How
cute.” A few more clicks of the mouse and I pause at an image of the same three
characters in their teens. I crack
up.
So what do Mozart, Batman, and the GEICO Caveman have in
common?
Individuality.
We cultivate genius when we inspire the heart, nourish the
mind, and train the will to actively pursue individuality.
Goals 2000 was beginning to be implemented when my oldest
daughter, Hannah was in Kindergarten. I received a cryptic postcard in the mail
from the school district, a disclosure that the exit exam was on its way. In
ten short years Hannah’s graduating class would be affected. I remember being
fascinated by the specific goals the district had in mind, goals that seemed
vague and far removed from academics that would promote individuality. Being an
inquisitive mom, I tucked the postcard into my purse and paid a visit to Hannah’s
Principal.
I began my show and tell. The Principal had never seen or
heard about the information on the postcard. Flustered, he pulled an enormous
binder from a stack on the shelf behind his desk. With a slam and a great puff
of dust he proclaimed, “…must relate to this.” The sad reality is that the
discouraged Principal confessed,
“Who has time to read?”
The next year I began homeschooling.
I have three secret ambitions:
1. Grow a garden that thrives
2. Learn to play guitar
3. Become fluent in Italian
Sometimes my ambitions frustrate me, especially when I walk
up the driveway, look to my left, and see the small plot of city dirt that
holds the potential to feed my family as I rush to my computer to get cracking
on another lesson plan. I become discouraged when I compare myself to Barbara
Kingsolver (Animal Vegetable Miracle), James Taylor, and Pavarotti (okay, so
Italian as the stepping stone to opera).
I had a roommate in college who was a focused high achiever.
While I had so many interests that I found myself spiraling into a state of
indecisiveness, she had two activities on her free time list: exercise and
cheesy romance novels. What I perceived as a lack of imagination kept her
schedule even keeled. My roommate, who eased her way into a pediatric practice,
was living the “can’t do it all” kind of life that I secretly envied.
But the good news is I think I finally understand. As I press
into the work of cultivating my individuality, I’ve made the conscious choice
that there are some things that I simply cannot accomplish.
Last winter our family enjoyed following the 21st Winter
Olympics. I don’t know what came
over me last night, but when my 12-year-old son declared that he wanted to be a
snowboarder like Shaun White I blurted, “That is an unrealistic dream.”
Did that really come out of my mouth? I am the creative educator who believes
all things for her students! But the statement was at once freeing and
bittersweet, like when you admit to your child that Santa is make-believe. In that moment I realized that I was
empowering my son. I told him, “You can be a rock star, a songwriter. You can
be a pilot, even an astronaut. But Liam, we live in a beach community and don’t
have the resources to get to the snow every weekend. It is highly unlikely you
will ever be an Olympic snowboarder.”
I’m not a complete fun crusher, I went on to encourage my son
that he shouldn’t scratch snowboarding off his list of ambitions, I simply
encouraged him to reserve the dream of chasing gold for activities that are
within arm’s reach.
Watching the Olympics I got the evil eye shot my way when
Shaun White hit the bowl going for gold. I shot the mom glance back. Liam
laughed. My son gets it. Liam is aware of what he can and cannot accomplish
because he recognizes and values his individuality.
When education focuses on narrow outcomes individuality is
squelched. When we focus on promoting critical and creative thinking,
individuality thrives. I am glad to begin the year with the photo of three
teenage boys playing dress-up. For this teacher the image echoes Martin Luther
King Jr., “There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down
in the length of life, devoid of breadth.”
Here’s to more Mozarts, Batmans, and
GEIKO Cavemen!