One of my stress relievers after a long day is to listen to classical music on my drive home. In addition to the calming music, I love to hear the stories about the different composers. Recently I heard a story about a composer named Clementi. I had never heard of him before, but the radio host mentioned that during his career, he was a revered composer and was even a mentor to Ludwig Van Beethoven. Like most people, I know many of Beethoven’s works and I was interested to discover that one of his mentors was someone I had never even heard of. The host went on to describe the differences between the two composers. They were both skilled at their work, but unlike Beethoven, Clementi followed all the rules of the day. He was described as “playing all the right notes and putting them in the right place”. While this made him a good composer, Beethoven’s daring and boldness with his music made him a legendary composer.
I guess the same could be said of any professional. Doing things consistently and in the right way will make you very good at your job. However, if you want to become great you need to do things that others have not done before and like Beethoven, be daring and bold. In the world of education, we all come from similar backgrounds in education. We receive training from a college, do our student teaching, and then are given our own classroom of students. If we are lucky, we have a good mentor and supportive peers and supervisors. There are so many good teachers in the world of education. Those that do the right thing at the right time. But there are also great educators out there too! Educators that challenge the status quo, who take risks and try new things, and whose passion for doing whatever it takes to make students successful is evident in everything they do. That’s the kind of educator I want to be and that’s the kind of educators that I want to encourage ALL our teachers to be!
Someone told me this summer, “You don’t have to be bad to want to get better.” I thought that was excellent advice. I don’t ever want the teachers I work with to feel beat down or disheartened. I want them to be inspired and encouraged. I also want to them to reject the status quo and leave behind the good and go for the great. When I think of our school, I think, “What would I want for my children?” or “What did I need as a student?“. The answer is never “a good school” it’s always “a great school”. It all starts with us. What will you do this year to move from good to great? Don’t be a Clementi when you can be a Beethoven!
“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” – LVB
“I will seize fate by the throat” – LVB
“Music comes to me more readily than words.” – LVB
- Monday, September 24: Celebrate Monday Assembly 9:05 AM, Book Fair Opens
- Tuesday, September 25: Achievement Team (Kaufman) 8:15 AM, 504 Meeting (Ringler) 2:35 PM
- Wednesday, September 26: Elementary Principals Meeting 1:00-4:30 PM
- Thursday, September 27: No Staff Meeting, Curriculum Night/Open House 6:00-7:30 PM
- Friday, September 28: Jon in Lansing for MEMSPA Board of Directors Meeting, Book Fair Closes
- Monday, October 1: Students of the Month Assembly (Respect) 9:05 AM, Lock Down Drill 2:00 PM, Growth Plans due in Pivot
The Spark of Learning 