Putting it all together

I did not realize when I wrote this post that it was

American Education Week

Support Your Schools

 I had a student who drew this design and I liked it so much that I worked with it to put the words in and I used it as a graphic for school one year.  It is meant to show how all of the things in a school are interrelated and connected and depend on each other.  There are a lot of people who think that to improve schools we need to do better in math and science.  That is not enough. Students need communication skills, how to speak, write intelligently and use proper grammar and spelling -- they need to read and understand and be able to apply what they read.  They need social studies, a basic understanding of history and how we got to where we are, civics, how we run our country and how to participate as an informed citizen in politics and government.  They need to be able to recognize falsehood when they see it and untruths and find ways to call it out. They need diplomacy and interpersonal skills.

AND they need to learn how to work together cooperatively (and yes also how to work alone) to bring projects to fruition so that progress can be made. They need to work with all types of people. They need to work and relate to all ages of people and they need to get past the prejudices of their parents and recognize the worth of each individual no matter what their outward appearance or whether they are gay or straight.  Over the years I have taught many students, some of them were gay. I loved them just the same as I did the others. Some of them had gay parents, they were treated the same as everyone else.  Everybody has the rights granted to them by the Constitution of the United States of America and anyone who tries to take away those rights needs to be called out and stopped.  And school is the place to learn how to to that responsibly and with civility.

School is not about just math and science and tests. It, like living in the world, is about everything and anything and there is no place for bullies, either in school or in society.
But that is just my opinion.  Your comments are welcome.