All Means All
From the desk of Hope…
Several weeks ago as I checked in with my social network accounts I noticed the hash tag #ALLmeansall. This phrase caught my attention and I paused to think about the meaning of – “ALL means all”.
All, as in all children?, All of what? I asked myself as I tried to make sense of this particular hashtag. A guick google search took me to our Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan’s literature, headlines stating – when “all” really means “some.”
Over the next couple of days, this phrase kept creeping back into my mind — ALL means all. My brain was trying desperately to make connections to my profession as an educator and the fact that we know in the United States of America ALL children are entitled to a free appropriate education.
I decided to keep my eyes peeled with this phrase in mind as I made my way out to schools and classrooms over the next few weeks.
Step Inside My World
As I searched for meaning of the hashtag, ALL means all, I decided to observe through this lens as I visited schools and classrooms doing my work as a teacher coach. I also found myself reminiscing and remembering scenarios that stuck with me from prior coaching days.
As I began to see “ALL Means all” take form in classrooms, my mind began to create meaning for the phrase. The eyes see only what the mind is ready to comprehend and my mind was ready to take in, decipher and understand more.
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A fourth grade boy who soiled his pants and would not get up and go to lunch still deserved to be taught. His caring teacher graciously handled this situation so he could stay at school and learn with dignity.
The first grader sitting beside me in an isolated desk “because she was in lots of trouble the year before”, also deserved to be taught in a meaningful way. I loved seeing her move back into the group to…give it another try.
ALL Means all
The pregnant high school girl who made a risky choice still needed to learn to read. In fact, learning to read could be the life changer for her. Thank you to the teacher who worked to find interesting literature to hold her attention at this difficult time when all she wanted to do was put her head on her desk and sleep.
How about the group of high flyers who could do the work before it was ever even presented to them? They were allowed to create something a little more dynamic and engaging when they requested. These learners need to grow too and their teacher recognized it.
ALL Means all
As I joined a group of high school boys in their English class, I learned that two of the four boys work second shift to help pay the bills at home. These guys required a little more patience from their teacher but it was worth it to see how smart they were and the thinking they could produce in the discussion circle when someone believed they were capable.
“This is the group that is wanting to learn and this is the group that is not wanting to learn…” and the conversation goes on. I find it a privilege to be in situations like this coaching to change mindsets. Thank you Ms. Teacher for listening to my suggestions. We celebrated the success we witnessed together.
ALL Means all
The learners that come at things a little differently but they can still learn, just in a different way (like my niece Madison and the two children sitting near me that day) were not lost in the shuffle. The extra time it took to plan a differentiated lesson was worth it when the teacher saw the smiles, feeling of success and the brilliant ideas they were able to bring to the table.
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And these scenarios go on. And my thinking about the phrase, ALL means all, will go on..And my passion for ALL children to get an appropriate education will go on, not just “some” but “ALL.”