When I started teaching here almost two decades ago, I thought the most important element to get kids to be productive was to develop self-efficacy. At the time I taught 8th grade Language Arts and reading.

The start of the year was often a struggle. Students came to me with a host of false beliefs about their abilities. I had to show them as quickly as I could that they had the skills needed to do the work I gave them. This philosophy was pretty good and worked to help students with a problem of thinking they weren’t good enough to try. I know I got more to try that way.

Now I believe that finding a passion is the key to opening up the world to kids who feel that school just might not be for them. I know they all have a passion about something. What it requires is for me to put things in front of them and then notice what happens. Does their effort level change? Are they eating this activity up? Then if it is proving to be enjoyable, we can build on that joy. Now there is an opportunity to take off and see school as a place to have a passion and it can happen every single day. That is powerful and perfect for a smooth flowing 4th grade day.

We can get through a lot if we know we will be rewarded with a passion. For me it’s cutting up these tomatoes to become sun dried yummies. I am sitting in the sun, sipping my coffee, dreaming about canning these and enjoying them when the sun is no longer warming my back. It’s also about keeping quiet jazz playing all day and putting sun tea in the window. It’s about cultivating future joy as well as the joy of the moment. It works for me.

This year I will be on the lookout for that passion. I will do what I can to make sure it’s available always, be it coloring, literature, performance, technology, poetry, paper airplanes, or what have you. We have a vibrant community here and even a pandemic can’t stop us from exercising our human need to be passionate.