Amazing Things Happen as You Go

Amazing Things Happen as You Go

I HATE clichés. Love puns, but I hate clichés.
So believe me when I tell you that it pains me when I can only describe “Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom” as a story whose overarching message is that “its not the destination, but the journey that matters.”
In addition to the book, I looked at the class’ website (www.projectcitizen405.com) a video documentary posted online made by the students as part of the project, and a very interesting review of the book online at Arizona State University’s “Educational Review.” (Appelbaum, http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev712.htm)
Though it is sad that a new school was not built, I always hope for better educational circumstances for all children, in a perverse way, that was the book’s strongest point to me. As an instructor affiliated with a national teachers corps, the case of the “white hero riding in on his/her high horse to rescue the poor minorities” is a cliché (and a misconception) that embodies why I hate clichés.
That said this was not one of those stories. There was no miracle, there was no hero, the teacher had no magic bullet, and he was not one himself. In fact, the story was not even about a teacher who “challenged the curriculum” as the book’s rear cover describes, but rather it is the story of a teacher who did his job in taking the curriculum and making it work to enrich the education and lives of his students.
This book was also particularly inspirational for me as a new teacher, who is (as described by veteran teachers) “transitioned into the ‘disillusionment phase” of my teaching career. To see what a second year teacher can accomplish is no small motivating factor for me.
Schultz shows us that even through our failures, we can achieve so much. As I go to post this, I look at the quote above the computers in my classroom
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!” –Les Brown