Student U. Day at DA

On Friday, Durham Academy celebrated Student U. Day. The day's events, completely organized by DA students, began with Chris Bassil discussing Student U. with the student body. Chris asked the students questions about Student U. and threw chocolate into the crowd when a correct answer was given. Then as students ate hamburgers and hot dogs on the quad, the DA Student U. Team sold t-shirts and loco pops, with all proceeds going to Student U. Dozens of students all took this opportunity to sign up to volunteer at Student U. for the summer.

It has been almost three years since I first arrived at Durham Academy and met with Michael Ulku-Steiner as well as other members of the DA faculty and staff to discuss the possibility of starting Student U. at DA. After Friday's events, it is clear that Durham Academy has completely embraced Student U. as a part of its community.

Thanks to the wonderful DA Student U. Volunteers who put together a meaningful day and for everyone at Durham Academy who has worked to make Student U. feel so welcomed on this campus.

Why Educate?

The following is the address I will give today at the Duke University Program in Education Graduation Ceremony. This piece explains why I believe education is so important:

Why Educate?

We are not simply fighting for test scores. We are not simply fighting for good grades or for passing with honors. We are not simply fighting for report cards, for check pluses or A+ or for extra credit. We are not simply fighting for trigonometry, for literary allusions or for geology, nor for the Great Compromise the Dread Scott Decision or the Spanish American war. We are not simply fighting for science class, for metaphors, or for fraction worksheets.

We are fighting for hope. We are fighting for optimism. We are fighting for the future. We fight because we believe. We believe that all people, regardless of their race or socioeconomic status, regardless of their religious beliefs or their sexual orientation, regardless of their home town or the home life, deserve a chance to become their best selves, deserve a chance to believe in the potential of that best self.

Why educate? Because we need a world where people believe in themselves. We need a world where people understand they are unique, special, amazing. We need a world where people value themselves more than they value the clothes they wear or the cars they drive.

We are all here today because when we look at a student, we see who that person can become, not just who that person is. We see a future mayor a future doctor a future wife a future father. We see our students growing up, finding their passion, and using that passion to spread some light on the world. We fight because we see the potential - the potential of one student to create a masterpiece, of another to cure a disease, of another to raise a great family.

A baby is born. That baby has life, potential, hope, dreams, a future. We educate to further life and potential, to teach how to use one’s hopes, one’s dreams, one’s future. We education to inspire, to strive, to yearn, to care, to empower.

We do not dedicate our lives to help students learn how to identify adjectives and solve math problems. We dedicate our lives to help students to identify passions and use those passions to solve world problems. We teach how to dream, how to believe, how to love.

We educate because we believe in the collective powers of individuals to spread this love across the classroom, across the school, across the city, the state, the country, across the world. We educate because we believe.

We work, we sweat, we cry, we fight, because we can imagine a better world. We can imagine a world filled with individuals reaching their full potential. A world with each person’s light flowing together to shine color. A world where all people, all baby’s, all adolescents, all adults, all people are loved and cherished and told that they matter.

Last year over 500 students dropped out of the Durham Public Schools. 500 students. 500 future teachers, doctors, musicians, artists. 500 people, filled to the brim with potential, with light just yearning to brighten up your day. Why educate? We educate not simply to raise test scores, but to raise confidence. To help these 500 people, to empower them to see their light and figure out how to use it to illuminate a world that sometimes is so dark it is easy for one to lose her way.

By being here today, by choosing to educate, you are choosing to fight for these 500 students. You are deciding to never give up on these precious individuals. And therefore, by being here today you are making a promise to always look at all of your students and see who they CAN one day become and then to treat them as those people.

Don’t let anyone tell you that one person can not make a difference. Don’t let anyone tell you that one teacher can not make a difference. And certainly don’t let anyone tell you that you are too young.

Go out and fight for one student. Go out and fight for one individual. Go out and change the world.

Parents' Association Meeting

A combination of returning parents and new parents and returning students and new students met tonight to discuss the upcoming summer at Student U. The meeting began with a conversation about both the best aspects of the schools students are currently attending as well as the parts of schools where there is room for improvement. After students and parents shared success stories, I asked to hear about some of the struggles students were currently facing. All of the six students who were at the meeting immediately raised their hands. Each discussed a specific aspect of school which had become difficult in the past year. I was so impressed with the courage each student had to share with the group as well as the willingness of the students to admit weaknesses. These students are clearly ready to face challenges and do what is necessary to combat these struggles.

These thoughts led to a conversation about what Student U. could do this summer to help students better prepare for the sixth or seventh grade. Comments ranged from teaching more study and test taking skills to working with students on how to deal with peer pressure to creating a Student U. School Board. Many of the ideas brainstormed today will lead to tangible additions to the summer program.

Perhaps even more exciting than these new ideas was the way our rising seventh grade students interacted with our new students. Diamond, one of our returning students, stood up at one point and exclaimed, "When I first heard about Student U., I thought it was going to be boring, but then I came and made new friends. I was at first upset that I wasn't going to have a summer, but then on the last day of Student U. I cried." Diamond and other returners kept on trying to get the new students exciting about the upcoming journey. Genessa told the new students "If you have a problem, come to us. Seriously, we are here." Kayla added on "we know how to help people. Student U. taught us how to help people and we can use that to make you new students happy."

The meeting ended with a lot of excitement, enthusiasm, and anxious bodies, wishing the summer could start tomorrow.

To end this post, I will share one more story form the night. Sara, a new student, expressed at one point her interest in art and her disappointment that her current school did not provide better art classes. Kayla quickly responded, "Mr. Kimberg, can Sara help teach an art class this summer?"

At Student U. we truly are all teachers and all students, working together to enhance our strengths and combat those struggles we face.

40 days until Student U. Summer 2008 begins.