If you listen to NPR then you may be familiar with “Car Talk”. It’s a show where listeners call in with all sorts of questions about their automobiles and ask for advice from the two car gurus. The interesting thing about the show is that the Car Guys are often able to diagnose the issue and prescribe a remedy simply from listening to descriptions from the callers and hearing their renditions of the various sounds made by their cars. Their ability to solve so many issues with so little information is due to their understanding of the system as a whole and how all the parts work together. They know that a squeaky sound can be from a loose belt and that a loud knocking might be from bad spark plugs. They realize that that each part can impact the other parts and that by understanding the entire system they can track the root of the problem and keep things running smoothly.
When I think of out job as educators, it’s to help our students become like the Car Guys. No, they don’t all need to be experts on cars and have their own radio show. However, we want them to move beyond low-level knowledge and memorization to understanding how things work together and how to apply knowledge. We want to create “system learners” who have a rich depth of knowledge and can be innovative in their thinking.
The other attribute of Car Talk that I would like our students to have is a love for what they do. There’s a difference between being an expert on something and being passionate about something. If you’re lucky, you will be both! If we are successful with our students, then we will help them develop expertise and combine it with their passions. As an educator, who loves his job, I’ve been fortunate to be able to blend my continued learning with what I’m passionate about. I may not have the expertise the Car Guys have, but I certainly love what I do just as much as they do!
“Never gain so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise.” – Denis Waitley
“An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less.” – Nicholas Butler
“If an expert says it can’t be done, get another expert.” – David Ben-Gurion
- Monday, February 26: Student of the Month Assembly (Integrity) 9:05 AM, Prinicpals Meeting 9:30-11:30 AM
- Tuesday, February 27: Achievement Team Meeting (Medellin) 8:15 AM, Parent Meeting (Williams) 2:35 PM, District School Improvement Team 5:30-7:30 PM
- Wednesday, February 28: Students Dismissed at 12:10 PM, Building PD 1:00–4:00 PM
- Thursday, March 1: Staff Meeting 8:05 AM
- Friday, March 2: Jon in Lansing for MEMSPA Board of Directors meeting
- Monday, March 5: Celebrate Monday Assembly 9:05 AM, Principals Collaborative Time 1:30-4:30 PM
- Tuesday, March 6: Achievement Team 8:15 AM, Follow up Homebound Meeting 9:30 AM
- Wednesday, March 7: Elementary Principals Meeting 1:00-4:30 PM, PTA Board Meeting 2:30 PM, Kindergarten Parent Information Night 6:00-7:00 PM
- Thursday, March 8: Staff Meeting 8:05 AM, Tornado Drill 3:30 PM
- Friday, March 9: Students Dismissed at 12:10 PM, Teacher Work Day in Building
BIG DATES
- Saturday, March 10: PTA Pancake Breakfast/Book Fair Kick Off 9:00-12:00
- Week of March 12: Scholastic Book Fair in the East Commons
- Friday, March 16: Report Cards go home
- Thursday, March 22: Battle of the Books (lunch in classrooms)
- Tuesday, March 27: Wild About Book All-School Assembly 1:30-2:30 PM
- Friday, March 30: No School – Spring Break Begins!
- Thursday, April 12: Science Fair (More info to come soon)
- Saturday, April 21: PTA Garden Beautification Project
- Thursday, April 26: Art Showcase & Music Performance (1st &2nd Grades) 6:00-8:00 PM
- Friday, May 11: PTA Spring Fling 6:00-8:00 PM
- Friday, May 25: Students & Staff dismissed at 12:10 PM
- Friday, June 8: Field Day
- Tuesday, June 12: Kindergarten Celebration/Music Concert 1:30 PM
- Thursday, June 14: All School Assembly 1:00-11:00 AM, Students Dismissed at 12:10 PM
- Friday, June 15: Students Dismissed at 12:10 PM
- Monday, June 18: Teacher Work Day (Optional Report)
The Spark of Learning 