There was a young boy born in the mid 1800’s that attended school right alongside the students in his neighborhood. He ate what they ate, played where they played, and probably enjoyed some of the same things that they did as well. He did not however excel in his academics in school like them. His very own teacher stated that he was “too stupid to learn anything”, and that led to him being home schooled. We can only assume that that devastated young Thomas Edison! Thomas was described as “non-productive” at his first couple of jobs which all resulted with him getting fired. It is almost humorous how he is now regarded as such a brilliant mind and credited as the inventor of the modern- day light-bulb. He could have been described as a “serial entrepreneur” based off all his failed businesses and the 1,093 patents held for ideas and inventions that never made it big. One of those inventions was an automatic vote-tally system for congress, which they disappointingly rejected. Thomas Edison overall developed over 10,000 prototypes prior to coming up with the light-bulb that would function in the way he intended. After achieving success, he was asked about all the failures that led up to it. Edison brilliantly replied, “I have not failed 10,000 times- I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
Now that we have had a nice appetizer, time to digest some of the principles from this story and find applications for it. Not only did Thomas Edison develop over 10,000 prototypes for the light-bulb, the reality is that the light bulb was only one of almost 1,100 of his ideas and inventions. All of this came from a man who matured from a student considered “too stupid to learn anything!” As Educators we should not only immediately see the fault in referring to a student as “stupid”, but also the potential stored in all our students, even the ones that are not exceeding our academic expectations.
I recall being in elementary school and receiving a “C” on a progress report in social studies. My mother was not too pleased but took the time to encourage me and helped prepare me better for class. On Sunday afternoons I would pre-read the upcoming chapter for the week, define the key terms, and answer the section review questions. To be honest, I was kind of known as the “class clown” so when I began to answer questions in class and provide valuable input there was a shift in mindsets. The way I was perceived by both my classmates and teacher began to change along with the way I functioned in class. I became motivated by my own level of success, and the consistency of it led to an exemplary grade on my final report card.
As an Educator success in the classroom will not always be evident. There were times that I felt like I failed my students with a lesson whether it was in content or character. It amazes me sometimes how students would share with me how much of a positive impact I made on their life. Recently, students that I taught almost 14 years ago reached out to me through social media and requested for me to be the Officiant of their wedding! They even provided paid for my online certification to be able to legally conduct the ceremony. There were students that may have started the year with a multitude of discipline problems or struggling academically that displayed drastic improvement as the year progressed. I also had students that did not show improvement even as the year concluded and was fortunate enough to get an update on them in life. It was so rewarding to find out how students that left my class at the end of the year, with my deepest concerns, were able to mature and apply some of the practices that was shared with them while under my watch. As cliché as it may sound, what we as Educators do in the schools and classrooms are like planting various seeds. Each seed can yield a different plant, and each plant may require a different length of time to grow. They may all receive sunshine, rain, and fertilizer, but thrive differently. For the plant to grow to its full potential, pruning is also required. In that process all the excess, damaged, and non-producing segments are removed. If you are determined to keep progressing despite any setbacks, then you must be a Next Level Educator!
The Jeremy Anderson Group