I simply love the movie The Breakfast Club. It has always been in my Top 5 favorite movies of all time because it captures the heart and soul of any and all people that ever attended high school. Every time I watch it, I am reminded of the good, bad, and ugly side of our educational system.
At one point in time, my bride had asked me which character I felt I identified with as a high school student. I immediately said Andy (Emilio Estevez) because I was heavily involved in sports growing up. As I reflected a little more, I started to reconsider. In fact, I had concluded that I identified with all the characters at various points in my high school career. What is even more amazing is that I can even identify with Richard Vernon now that I am a high school principal. This might explain why it is such a fantastic movie.
As the movie started up, I was quickly overwhelmed with the music of Simple Minds Don't You (Forget About Me) and the instant nostalgia that it brought upon me. As the opening credits continued, I finally was slapped in the face by the David Bowie quote that I had seen a million times before:
I had never really given this quote much thought other than how it related to the overall plot of the movie, but it takes on greater significance if you are in education. In my role as a principal, I hear from many people on a daily basis about how we are in trouble because our current generation of students doesn't know to work hard, is lazy, is attached to their phone, you fill in the blank. This line of thought is captured perfectly in the scene below when Richard Vernon and Carl the Janitor are talking in the basement of the school.
The reality of the situation is that our current generation of students are falling victim to the "my generation was better than yours" paradox. What we need to realize is that we cannot and should not make gross generalizations about our current or future students based on a few outliers that make the news. Our current and future generations of students as David Bowie so eloquently stated, "are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through..."
You see, I love my role as principal because I get to see growth in kids on a daily basis. I know that they are not a finished product even when they graduate from high school. Unlike a business, schools don't see a return on their investment for almost a decade after the student leaves the stage with a diploma in hand. I will not fall victim to this insane dialogue about how our students are falling behind and failing our country. If you know any educators who do subscribe to this believe, I ask that you tell them to find another profession.
We in education can never, ever give up on our kids and fall in line with the thinking of Richard Vernon. If we do, we truly will have dark days ahead of us. Stop engaging in the dialogue about how our current and future students are not prepared and will be the demise of our great country. Remember, that was probably said about you by your previous generation.
#OwnYourEpic
Posts
Well done! You said it perfectly, "We in education can never, ever give up on our kids..." We have chosen this field because we care about kids. And when we stop caring it's time to pursue other passions.
ReplyDelete"Every year we get a year older...but the Seniors are still 17." I see students who are more focused on the future than ever before. With respect to Tom Brokaw, et al., to call one group of people "the Greatest Generation" sets up a paradox: all generations after are either worse or the "greatester" or "greatestest". Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but also is tinged with rose-colored glasses nostalgia. I consider my teen years positive and formative, but I don't know if I could have hung with the students of today who are successful in balancing school, work, sports and social life. Today's demands are much greater (no pun intended) than those I experienced. Nicely articulated ideas.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the movie. I've shown the movie in my psychology class for years. I still get students sending me messages when The Breakfast Club is on TV. It shows that the heart of the movie is true. Students connect with the movie today.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I agree that we have to stay diligent not to fall into the "kids these days" thinking. We are all works in progress. Education is about development, about growth and movement to a better place. What I do think is that too many students have rougher starting points than past generations. And like the movie highlights, it's not because of them, it is because of the adults in their life. Thank you for sharing.