Shipbuilders of the Future: A Message to Begin the 2017-2018 School Year

     In my recent trip to California this past summer, my husband and I found ourselves on a boardwalk of sorts overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The view was breathtaking. There was a World War II ship that resides in the bay that intrigued my husband and me because both of our grandfathers fought in World War II, his serving in the Merchant Marine Academy on a ship similar to the one we saw.

While walking down the boardwalk, my eye caught sight of a sign giving information about the ship, stating how this ship was built in part by high school students. I stood in awe of that fact--a ship built by teenagers. That one sentence really resonated with me. I seriously couldn't stop thinking about it all day.

     Let me backtrack to why I couldn't get that sentence out of my head. When I began my student teaching 21 years ago, one of my friends asked me why she hadn't seen me on campus. When I told her I was student teaching, she replied, "You will be the best kindergarten teacher!" The surprised look on her face when I told her I was teaching high school is something I never will forget. "Why would you want to do that?" she asked me. That age group just inspires me. It is the age where they are coming into who they are as people of the world, where they have the potential to make huge changes and dream big. My teenage years were fantastic in part because of my teachers. Twenty-one years ago, I wanted to be that teacher to show the teenage generation that they matter. Twenty-one years later, I still want to be that teacher. 

                                A young Mrs. Pace in her first year of teaching circa 1997 
                 and a more "seasoned" Mrs. Pace in her 18th year of teaching circa 2017. 
                   The hand gestures and excitement for teaching have not changed.

When asked what I do for a living by people who I don't know, I'm usually received with a look of raised eyebrows and surprise. Whether or not it's intentional, people tend to judge teenagers too much. They assume that all fast driving and reckless behavior are attributed to the teenage population I am inspired by on a daily basis in my classroom. I've seen the stereotypes infiltrate society: teenagers are lazy, ungrateful, and spoiled. They are addicted to their phones and have no motivation except to play video games. Teenagers today get more bad press than any generation in history. Yet from my view, I just can't find the truth in those statements. I see what teenagers are capable of doing. I see their kindness and witness their ideas that have the potential to change the world.

     So, as we begin the 2017-2018 school year, I want to tell you my goals for you--the shipbuilders in my classroom. This advice also can apply to my own children who are in elementary and middle school. I want you to work hard but know that it's okay to make mistakes. That's where true learning occurs. I want you to read the books and write and rewrite generously. I want you to connect with others in the room. Like any classroom, my classroom is a community. In order to be a part of the community, you need to talk with one another. I remember observing a class a long time ago, and the students didn't even know one another's names...and it was May. Get to know one another. Get to know me. Know that I am an avid Beatles fan, but they are not the only band who makes the hairs on my arms stand up when I hear their music. Know that in my eyes, there is nothing more powerful than a handwritten note or a good book or a smile and that most of my thinking and ideas for lessons is done on my daily 5:20 a.m. runs (Yes, I do get up that early). Know that I am passionate about teaching and passionate about being a mom. I think the roles of a teacher and mother are often interchangeable. I am trying just as your parents are to lead you in the right direction--to help you make the right choices.

     I think the hard thing about being a student today is the expectations put on you. You are expected to be the best in school, outside of school, on the fields and the stage, in the community. You are expected to do hours of homework and maintain a job and volunteer all to get into a good college to better prepare you for a career. Yet, in watching students balance all of this like a Jenga game gone wrong, I can't help but question whether or not we are preparing you for the "real" world. What are we teaching you if we pile all of these expectations on who you are? These are questions that keep me up at night and ones in which, unfortunately, I don't have an answer.

     So here's the final thing that I want to tell my students, my children, and anyone else who is a student this year who is willing to listen: Forget about the expectations others put on you. Set your own goals. Realistic goals. Ones that won't compromise your stress level and sanity. Don't try to do something big. Do little things every day. I recently heard that advice when I went to visit my husband's grandfather in Lynchburg  (the same one who served as a Merchant Marine in World War 2) . One of the ladies who stopped to say hello to him told me that and said that she had to retrain her brain entirely after her stroke. She is completely functional now because she didn't try to do it all at once. What a profound accomplishment. What profound advice.

     More than ever, I encourage you to be the best version of yourself on a daily basis. Last year, I introduced my students to the idea of being one percent better than they were the day before. I challenged them to do just that--to find a way to minimally improve their lives every day. The way those students changed and grew was one of the most remarkable things I had ever witnessed as a teacher. They were kinder and more compassionate. And nothing revolved around a test score or a grade. They just did it because they knew that if they lived this way for a year by the end of the year they would be thirty-seven times better. They did it because they cared and put kindness first. They did it to make a difference. So, don't worry about being the smartest or the most talented or the fastest or the student involved in every club. Be 1% better. Be kind. Spread that movement. Be the nice kid who gets along with everyone. Be the nice kid who celebrates the successes of others, who makes good choices. Be the student who the teacher remembers as the nice kid.

     I'm still in awe that the ship I saw in California was built in part by teenagers. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to spend seven  hours each day with such a population. You may tease me ruthlessly about my Beatles-loving, emoji-hating, Taco Bell-loathing self, but you keep me young and make me smile. You make me think. You are the ones who make me 1% better. You are the people who are the shipbuilders of the future. You are my clients--all 149 of you this year--and I will work as tirelessly as I can to get you to improve your writing, analyze texts critically, speak eloquently, but most importantly be better, kinder people and global citizens. Shipbuilders, my classroom is ready for you. I am ready for you. Here's to year 19 of a journey I am thankful for every single day!