Making it up as I go

I was nine years old at the drive in movie theater. The feature film was “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and I was in heaven. That was the first time I saw the film, but not the last. Nearly 40 years later, I still enjoy the film and it’s sequels and have watched it countless times with my family. One of my favorite lines in the film is when his fellow adventures ask what he is going to do next. The memorable response from Indiana Jones is “I don’t know, I’m making this up as go.”

Recently, I was watching a special about the making of the film and it was revealed that when George Lucas and Philip Kaufman were writing the story, they felt exactly the same way. They had great ideas, but the story was very fluid and kept developing each time they collaborated into something neither one of them expected. The result was a classic movie and an iconic Hollywood character. His line about making it up as I go was really reflecting the process of making the movie, as well as his onscreen adventure.

As educators, we can often feel like we are making it up as we go. In some ways, that’s a good thing. We start with great lesson plans and specific targets to reach, but we adapt as we go according to the needs of our students. Sometimes to places we didn’t expect to go. That’s the exciting and sometimes scary part of being an educator. We need to be able to change courses quickly and adapt to a million different scenarios that can come up each day in the classroom. It’s just another reason that being an educator isn’t for everyone, but for those that answer the calling, it can be the adventure of a lifetime!

“It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” – Indiana Jones

“X never, ever marks the spot.” – Indiana Jones

“Nothing surprises me; I’m a scientist.” – Indiana Jones

Monday, October 14: Fun Run Awards Assembly 9:05 AM, Fire Drill immediately after assembly
Tuesday, October 15: IEP (Trantham) 9:50 AM
Wednesday, October 16: Dinner from Social Committee, Conferences 5:00-8:00 PM
Thursday, October 17: Students dismissed 12:10 PM, Conferences 1:00-4:00 & 5:00-8:00 PM (Dinner from PTA)
Friday, October 18: Students dismissed 12:10 PM (Lunch from Office) Conferences 1:00-4:00 PM, Growth Plans due in Pivot