No Rhyme or Reason

Seth Godin started it and invited participation so here it is:

Unreasonable

It’s unreasonable to get out of bed on a snow day, when school has been canceled, and turn the downtime into time for learning.

It’s unreasonable for teachers to go outside at lunchtime so children can go sledding.

It’s unreasonable for children to expect to want to go to school.

It’s unreasonable to expect schools to connect joy to learning.

It’s unreasonable for students to expect their teachers to give detailed and helpful feedback on work when a simple grade is just fine.

It’s unreasonable to stay after school to attend meetings on how to meet children’s learning needs.

It’s unreasonable to attend professional development events when school is closed.

It’s unreasonable to try and be the kind of learner we want our students to be.

It’s unreasonable to go the extra mile to ensure that every child in the class is engaged as a learner.

It’s unreasonable to learn  about the cultures and customs of others and then respect them.

It’s unreasonable to consider the social and emotional lives of children.

It’s unreasonable to expect and embrace change and create new curricula when what we have been doing has been good enough for years.

It’s unreasonable to expect a curriculum much beyond  test prep.

It’s unreasonable to create schools that are clean and safe  and comfortable.

It’s unreasonable to set the alarm just a little earlier to make sure there’s time to feed the cat, empty the dishwasher and make breakfast.

It’s unreasonable to expect learners to take risks and sometimes fail.

It’s unreasonable to stay current with research and best practice and learn from others.

It’s unreasonable to stand outside on a bitter day to greet families as they drop off their children.

It’s unreasonable to smile at everyone and ask how they are doing and actually want to know.

It’s unreasonable to be expected to have time to go online and find the best resources to share with a colleague.

It’s unreasonable to have to care about how others feel.

It’s unreasonable to try something new in the classroom when you don’t even know if it will work.

It is unreasonable to ask whether anyone can tell the difference between the baby and the bathwater.

It’s unreasonable to find the time to do what is required.

It’s unreasonable to focus on the mission and vision of the school and put it into practice.

It’s unreasonable to expect ordinary people to be self-sustaining learners for life.

It’s unreasonable for Seth Godin to expect I can be bothered to learn from him.

It’s unreasonable and it’s a dirty job…but someone has to do it.

(Thank-you unreasonable educators.)