A week or so ago, during a school walkthrough, I visited an 8th grade class where the teacher was engaging the students in a close reading of an op-ed piece from the
Washington Post. At the time that I was in the classroom, the students were analyzing one particular sentence of the essay, in which the author opined that students who came from low-income backgrounds were less likely to reap successful outcomes from the American education system than their more affluent counterparts. After making sure that the students understood the writer's point, the teacher asked for their reactions to his assertion.
One student said, “America is not always a meritocracy.” Another offered that he did not agree with the author, that in fact while he himself was “not as rich” as some of his friends, he intended to make something great of himself. A third observed that in this country, when it comes to socio-economic status and its impact, “it's like two people running the same race except that one of the runners gets a head start.”
I am telling you this story so that you can have the same window I had into the quality of instruction that is taking place in Cambridge Public Schools. This teacher pushed the students first to fully understand the text before them, and then had them engage with it in a way that made it their own. I also wanted you to hear our students' voices; I know that you respect and admire them as I do, not just for their ability and willingness to study hard but to use their knowledge to inform their personal lives. This is what education is all about. And in Cambridge, education is about making sure that ALL students have equitable opportunities to grow as whole human beings and lead productive, meaningful and satisfying lives. This is what makes me so proud to work beside you.
I know that this kind of teaching takes a lot of work and that it is draining. Every person reading this message today has given his or her heart and soul to this city's young people, and I want you to know how much I appreciate and value the work you do. I hope you can take some time in this vacation week to de-compress, relax, have fun, re-fuel, and enjoy your family and friends.
On a lighter note, a number of people have requested that I re-issue a holiday poem I sent to you at this time last year. If you care to read on from here, I hope it will provide a laugh or two.
May you find peace and happiness in the new year…
JY
[There are many wonderful aspects to being a school superintendent, but calling “snow days” is not one of them. In this case, anxiety produces poetry…]
'Twas the week 'fore vacation, when all through the schools
The grown-ups were scurrying and trying to keep cool;
Their briefcases bulged with work to get done
Before the holidays, when the time came for fun;
The students were itchy to leave their worktables
And head for their homes where they'd surely be able
To dream sugar-plum dreams in their childhood heads,
Tucked safely away in their toasty warm beds;
When alas came the news in a form meteorological,
The kind that causes breakdowns of the type psychological:
Sleigh routes must at once be re-arranged
For reliable sources claimed the jet stream had changed;
The phone lists were placed by the bedsides with care
In fear the nor'easter soon would be there,
The administrators were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of snowplows danced in their heads;
Children conjured images of snowballs and skating
Yet I could foresee a dawn of debating;
The weatherman said the snow would be deep
So we all settled down for a tormented night's sleep;
When morning arrived, the blanketed streets
Made even us grinches remember the sweets
That come with a day when the world takes a rest
And the joy and relief of a cancelled tough test;
But being from Cambridge, where we're so dedicated,
We determined our students still could be educated,
Hence the clarion call, heard from miles away:
“Cambridge Public Schools: open today!
On teachers, On principals, On Turk and Maloney,
We can't fear the snow, the forecast is phony.”
And then at the moment of highest suspense
The superintendent himself got a dose of good sense;
So donning his boots, his scarf and his hat,
Outside he flew, and in the snow he sat,
Thinking, “Maybe this once, we can go another way...
Cambridge Public Schools: no school today!”
The kids in the city, and all the grown-ups too,
Awoke with bewilderment to see what was new;
A day of repose had arrived after all,
The kind of day most of us happily recall;
You all work so hard, we all do our best,
Vacation is here, so let's give it a rest,
Today let us all bring each other good cheer,
Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good year!
JY