I am a dreamer. I was that kid that couldn’t have friends over just to play games, or watch movies. When you came to my house (or if I came to yours,) we were going to do big things. I didn’t have time for hanging out. I wanted a full-on production. There would be recorded sound effects, lights, and action. Everyone had a script, and the challenge was to get each person to learn their lines and cues before our parents decided it was time to go home. I can remember that every Sunday night after church we would have dinner at someone’s house and for me – it was show time!
I’m not sure where this came from, because no one in my family is really a performer, but I found that I loved the feeling of the tension and pressure of putting together a performance and the result of grand applause. In a matter of hours I would create a somewhat off-Broadway style performance with singing, dancing, and drama. There was a set and props; all without a budget – just whatever we could find in the house. And when my parents said it’s time to go; in my brain it was time for the show. I would push everyone to their place in the family room, and give a performance that was worthy of an Oscar.
Looking back, I’m not sure how much all my friends liked this, but I was a strong and convincing enough personality to make things happen. I was a dreamer, and I pulled everyone in with me.
Now that I am an adult and I look back, I found that this has shaped my belief that anything is possible. Sure, it’s easy to look at the limitations and just say “never mind, it’s no big deal.” “What difference does it make?” But in my eight-year-old mind it was a huge deal. It was the next step to greatness. Every week had to be bigger and better.
Not much has really changed. I find that this same cycle takes precedence in every area of my life. From family vacations to daily tasks in my job, I just have this insatiable desire to do things bigger and better. I just get bored with what is expected.
I have this outlook on life that says what do you need? Ok, now what can I do to exceed your expectations. My father always instilled in me the idea to leave things better than the way you found them. I am running with this. It’s not to say that everything I do is amazing, because believe me it’s not. However, everything I do is a step to the next big thing. My satisfaction comes from knowing I am headed to the next level, and I am learning that I can always do more.
One of my major concerns that I have observed over fourteen years of teaching is that so often students, teachers, and people in general are always looking for what they have to do to be compliant. How often have I heard “what do I have to do to pass,” or “is this for a grade?” I long to see people who are not asking what is the standard, but are exceeding expectations and creating a new one.
As educators we all want our students to be outstanding performers whether it is on the football field, in math class, or on a stage. How can our students achieve greatness if we are not constantly demonstrating it to them?
I think our students need to see us struggle through big plans that fail. They need to see the work it takes to try something new. They need to see adults who dream big.
Kids need to see adults who dream big!
I understand that we all have different personalities, different backgrounds, different dreams, but one thing we have in common is determination. Students need to see what determination looks like. They need someone who will lead the way through trials and will redefine what success looks like. Is it a test score? Is it winning a trophy? Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be. It could be seeing a community come together to experience music in a new way. It could be an athletic team mentoring young kids who don’t have anyone to teach them. It could be an assistant principal who takes the time to invest in a first year teacher and mentor them as they learn how to teach.
I’m ready to define success a little differently. Success is dreaming big and doing whatever it takes to reach your goals. Success is enjoying the journey and striving for a new level when you reach your first goal.
When I was a kid, success was not winning an award, it was doing the biggest thing I could think of and seeing the smiles on people’s faces because they knew I was working for greatness. Success was doing something bigger next time. When I would leave my friends house on Sunday night, I only had one goal. Next week, do something bigger.
I challenge you to start looking at your classroom, your students, and your life through a different lens. Let’s redefine success. Everything we do should be a step toward doing something greater. Success is doing something bigger. If we follow this plan, we will never be satisfied and we will always be successful.
