Mary’s
Minute
A simple question that educators must never forget is, “What
is our purpose?” As simple as the
question seems, I think sometimes schools fail to think deeply about it. Most agree that the purpose of schools is for
learning. Everything else we do needs to
center around our core mission – learning.
At Perry Central we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about
learning. There are a lot of catch
phrases in education that relate to the unfaltering quest to promote student
learning. We have heard phrases like,
“Failure is not an option,” or “whatever it takes” to describe schools’ efforts
to ensure learning for all students. At
Perry Central we truly believe that we want all students to learn and do our
best to take away barriers. We believe
that students cannot simply opt out of learning. For instance, if a student chooses to not do
an assignment, in some systems the student would simply take a zero and never
be held accountable for the missed learning.
At Perry Central, we don’t let students off the hook that easily. First, we try to make assignments meaningful
so that students will choose to do them, but if they don’t, their first option
is not taking a zero. We communicate with
parents, assign them to Learning Lunch or to Eighth Period (after school
tutoring). Although they may get a grade
cut for being late on an assignment, they can’t opt for a zero by not doing the
work. We provide every support possible
to make sure they do the work! Why? Because our primary purpose is learning. We also understand the importance of teaching
work ethics, like timeliness, (We will save that for another discussion.) but
learning is our purpose! We are proud of
the results of our philosophy. By
creating support systems for students, they continue to do well, not just here but
also when compared to students across the state, and more importantly when they
leave Perry Central and go off to college.
I extend my sincere thanks to our teachers and support staff for
understanding that learning is at the core of what we do! Your efforts are working!
Mary
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