Last week the new semester started. There were new courses with new teachers, courses from first semester could now be in a different period of the day, and lunch periods are with different peers: all of these make for some mid winter excitement.
This week is Winter Fest, so there is some more excitement as the Student Council leads our learning community in celebrating the season by showing some school spirit and dressing up in this year’s themes, along with laughing and playing and cheering at the Pep Fest on Friday.
Most of us approach this change in semesters with a “fresh start” mentality. First semester is over and everyone begins the new classes with a “clean slate.” Some of my former teacher colleagues would say, “You all have an A until you lose it” or, kind of the opposite, “You now start again and have to earn the A.” I tended to lean toward the earning-it approach…but it turns out that I have changed this thinking. My experiences, my years of growth, my research, my conversations with parents, and my time with the middle-schoolers themselves have changed my perspective.
My class was not a competition, it was a place to learn. Neither did my students “have an A until it was lost,” nor did they start with nothing and then have to “earn the A.” The results on their essays were based upon what I taught and how we partnered in supporting them in demonstrating the knowledge and skills for that composition. If proficiency was achieved, that result was indicated by the letter grade of an “A.” If a peer achieved that same proficiency, she or he also earned an A, and correspondingly did not if less than proficient. My approach was about the learning, and my units were designed to build on that prior learning rather than start over. This was not a "clean slate." For those that like this approach, I can see it if it is used in referencing a perspective. What matters is the effort for growth.
My perspective is that one's previous efforts shape the future, making them valuable or not. My example (once again) is from baseball, and it is Mr. Joe Mauer, the hometown Twins player from Saint Paul. Mauer might be getting into the baseball Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility. When looking at just his hitting statistics, he hit .365 for his career (.600 in high school!). Those career stats were built on his yearly stats. They were the results of a consistent positive attitude and action, every year he played. He did have a clean slate to begin each season, but at the end of that season, those numbers impacted his final career at-bat percentages. One season built on the previous one which had built on the previous one. Every year needed renewed demonstrated effort and hard work, and Joe Mauer did this, creating his value and making him great. He was the Most Valuable Player, an All-Star, and an asset to the team. This was competition, and Mauer was not only a highly valued member of the team, he was and is considered one of the best to ever play in the league.
Semisonic has a line in their song “Closing Time” that says every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Maybe this line can be the approach for all of us as we enter a "new beginning," whether our approach is competitive or not, whether there is or is not a clean slate. The second semester/”season” of the 2023-24 school year has begun, and statistically it is a new beginning. But my staff and I will be partnering with students, building on this new beginning from the previous semester's effort, knowing that its value will come from last semester’s end. These semesters become the years that make up a student’s career. I hope there is a lot of effort that leads to learning and that this semester (and the next and the next) of school is valuable for everyone.
Weeks at a Glance
- Monday, January 22 - Friday, January 26: Winter Fest Dress-up Days
- Friday, January 26 - Pep Fest: Early Release Schedule for Winter Fest
Special Message - Help us spread the word to neighbors, friends, family and community: Spectrum High School and Spectrum Middle School 2024-25 enrollment applications for NEW students are due January 31, 2024 (to be included in the February 15, Enrollment Lottery: Spectrum Application Link). If you have any questions, check out the website, sign up to attend an Information and Tour Session, give us a call at 763.241.8703, or send an email to the Spectrum Registrar to learn more.