Sense of Urgency? (5-22-08)

Do you remember finals week in college? A ridiculously stressful time when everyone grinds to get it done. From final papers to class presentations to exams, finals week is great for one reason. It prepares you for the future high-stress situations that you're bound to face in your career. Whether it's a deadline for an article or a last minute creation of a partnership proposal for a business...every high-stress experience that you come out on top of builds a sense of confidence and assurance for the next encounter. Like the way Tiger Woods pulls on all of his previous victories to push through to the podium in each of his new successes we need a foundation of positive encounters to act as a catalyst for success in our future.

In our last week of school I am finding myself disappointed with a large group of students who are failing to rise to the occasion. Rather than just providing them with a traditional final assessment I've chose to break their final into two parts...a written component (30% of their final grade) and a presentation on what they know and how did they grow (70% of their final grade). The reason behind this decision was that they have an opportunity to pick any topic from the year that they feel confident in and share their expertise with us. It's unreasonable to think that every kid will be highly proficient at every content topic that we've covered this year. It seems highly reasonable that every student can pick one area that they are comfortable with and demonstrate to the class that they really know their stuff. Thus, I put more weight on the component of their final in which they have freedom of choice and more likelihood of success.

On Monday I provided students with a schedule of their presentation times with each of their time slots clearly mapped out. Today is Thursday and one out of the 6 scheduled students presented. It was like watching the Power of 1...what happened to 17? I guess I'm just disappointed in the seriousness in which our students approach these opportunities to perform in a high-stakes situation. Rather than recognize that they might need to stay after school or sacrifice a couple of lunches to be prepared they choose to fail. A notion that I simply don't get. This is not true for all students as some such as Ron and Armando did what it took to make sure they were ready. Our school's motto and guiding vision is quite simple, "WE WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES..." How can we get our students to adopt this vision rather than it simply being a guiding force for the staff?

Today I must say that I am more DEPRESSED than I am IMPRESSED.