Shadowing a school principal, some photos and a poem
Becoming compendium, October 31, 2022
Begin
Go slow now. Take time, feel gratitude, forgive.
Remember what matters: Spirit, authenticity, justice, words.
Every day: Watch things grow. Live with silence. Reflect.
Report: Among Schoolchildren
~Back to school. Remembering childish things.~
Last week, I spent some time at a school. It’s been decades since I last did that.
Markham Elementary is the most diverse school in (mostly white) Southwest Portland, and its 430 children represent 16 languages spoken at home. It’s inclusive, with kids of all hues, all of them treated with dignity, respect and kindness by a lively principal they obviously love.
My visit was part of the “Principal For Almost a Day” program sponsored by All Hands Raised, an organization that works to promote racial equality in schools. I’m following Traniece Brown-Warrens, who started as principal this school year, barely two months ago.
Markham ground through five different leaders last school year, Brown-Warrens says, and the resulting administrative chaos destroyed consistency and created what she terms “disregulation.” She faces the daunting task of healing the trauma of dysfunctional management.
She’s doing it with structure. “I like systems. I like things to run,” she says. “The kids know (the rules), the adults know, and that way everyone is safe.”
She adds: “I’m here to disrupt the culture.”
Recess is her favorite time, when she gets to watch her charges interact as they toss baskets through a netless hoop or chase one another around Markham’s vast play area.
On this day, despite October’s bright blue weather, the grass is wet and nobody wants to mess up their shoes. But Brown-Warrens finds an opportunity to toss a football—handing off her walkie to a student first—and then to lose control of the ball, time after time, in one-on-one matchups with a motley collection of balls the kids use for soccer.
When it’s time for lunch, structure comes into play. Each class forms into two lines before the children are freed to walk—not run!—to the cafeteria. They eat in shifts, the first graders with the fourth graders, the second with the fifth, and the third with kindergarten—a way to keep conflicts between classes at a minimum.
Most of the rest of the principal’s day is spent in inservice sessions on a new system of tracking incidents of disruptive classroom behavior. The teachers and facilitators in the room—maybe eight of them—are engaged, actively participating, asking intelligent questions. Most of them are typing on laptops.
A big question is time, as the program relies on existing resources. They tackle the balance between giving teachers extra work and gathering data that can be helpful in understanding what triggers certain behaviors.
Back on the playground, Brown-Warrens counsels a student on his behavior.
“What is fighting?” she asks him.
“Dangerous,” the kid says.
“Is it safe?”
“No.”
There are other ways to play, she says, getting the boy to agree before he runs off to play.
This school is full of color and life, from vivid artwork to children laughing in the hallways. Through an open classroom door, two boys gently goof off, pretending they are holding game consoles, while the teacher talks about monarch butterflies.
On the playground, a girl cradles a stuffed koala wearing a face mask. Other girls join the boys in tossing hoops.
Every school day is like that, full of memorable and forgettable moments.
“I love my job, every day,” Brown-Warren says.
And it shows.
About a book: Among Schoolchildren
~Great writer. Good read.~
I’ve loved Tracy Kidder’s work ever since I read his Pulitzer-winning The Soul of a New Machine, published in 1981. This tale of how competing groups of engineers at Data General Corp. raced to create a new minicomputer also won the National Book Award.
About a decade later, when I was covering education for The Oregonian, I was given a review copy of his book Among Schoolchildren and had a chance to interview Kidder about it. As you may imagine, I was thrilled! I don’t remember much about talking to him, but the book, about a fifth-grade classroom that Kidder shadowed for an entire year, stuck with me. It wasn’t just about pedagogy; it was about children and their home lives and the aspirations of their families.
And I remember that Kidder wasn’t afraid to note that it got pretty boring sitting in the back of that classroom day after day.
Kidder, who turns 77 on Nov. 12, continues to write astonishing books, one of which, House, was recommended to me by another resident here at Rose Schnitzer Manor. I hope to read it soon.
About a poem: “Among School Children”
“Among School Children" is a majestic poem by William Butler Yeats, a dense exploration of memory and the cycle of life. Written late in life, it scoops up history and myth, human life from the pangs of birth to the hurts of childhood to scarecrow old age, and folds them back on themselves, like egg whites folded into batter—and there is an egg in the poem, “the yolk and white of the one shell.”
Here’s how it ends:
O chestnut tree, great rooted blossomer, Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole? O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance?
Poem: Fear
~As close as I ever want to get to Halloween~
The snake coiled within The stench The shiver Small rodents, bigger teeth Certain dogs (Even the tiny, nippy ones) Crawly things That live in rotting wood In wild places. Yet isn’t wild something We’re taught these days to pull Out from under, from beneath our skin? The antidote to suburban sterility? Yes. Yes! Wild woman, I am The wild dancer. My wild hips, wanton and aching My wild hair flowing free Black tendrils writhing Like snakes. And, Goddess knows, We all fear Medusa. No. No, scratch that. Fear is more mundane Than tired myth. Fear comes from somewhere. And fear comes from nowhere. Mom, I don’t like it I can’t I can’t I can’t Don’t make me do it Please. Oh, enough of your whining! Just send fear away Pack its bags And shove it out the door. You can do it! Breathe and overcome Talk your way out of trouble Put on a happy face Apply the clown makeup And don’t forget to Smile! Okay. Okay. See, Mom, I’m not afraid Nope I’m not afraid (I’m not afraid) ((I’m not afraid.)) Am not!
Homework
~Writing well is the best revenge~
How’s your writing coming? If you adhere to the exercise I described on Oct. 18, you will be reaping the benefits by now. If you haven’t yet gotten around to trying it, I urge you to do so. I reiterate: it will change your life.
~You must remember this~
Election Day is Nov. 8. It’s coming up fast. You must vote.
Remember these sites for unbiased information about candidates, issues and ballot measures:
Project Vote Smart www.votesmart.org
Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org
Thanks, Fran, for another thoughtful commentary. I always admire and enjoy your writing.