Be Ready

Originally Published September 2017

As we watch the weather events of Harvey and Irma impact our friends and family, I can’t help but reflect upon the importance being ready.   Not just ready for the storms of life, but for life itself.  Planning, thinking, training, practicing are all components of readiness.  Considering the possibilities, preparing as best we can, and then going about our daily lives is how we get ready.   

So much of educating students is about getting them ready.  Ready for college, careers, the next grade level, the next assessment, competition, or performance.  We spend a great deal of time in education focusing on the future.  And that is good.

But I believe that readiness cannot solely be about what is coming but must encompass living in the moment.  For it is in the living that experience is earned, and the ability to make good decisions is developed.  Among educators, John Dewey is a well-known philosopher.  In 1897 he wrote what I believe are profound words that should continue to guide our actions as educators.

“I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.”

Students are not just preparing for life; they are living it now.  We must strive to make their experiences in our classrooms and through our extra- and co-curricular activities ones that they engage in and enjoy now, so that they carry the experiences into their futures.

In the last few years I have articulated my belief of what we should do for our students to be about opening doors.  I want to open as many doors as possible for students so that they can choose the one they will take.  To do that we must prepare them, and the best preparation is experience in the here and now.  

Let’s get our students ready and prepared, but let us never forget that are students are not waiting for life; they are living it now.

Simpson. D. & Stack, S. (2010). Teachers, leaders, and schools: essays by John Dewey. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.