Motivation

It was a beginning-of-the-school-year, budget-crunched, Get-in-the-mood, teachers! pop psychology of nothingness event: local motivational speakers.

I’d heard the husband “entertain” before at a company meeting, an appearance during which he alluded to my dour expression; this time he told many of the same jokes but was also joined by his wife.

And they won me over. Well, she did, anyway. Especially at the very end, when she talked about her ongoing battle with a cancer that, I learned just the other day, is now unstoppable.

(Speaking of cancer, one of the activities they led involved writing a famous person’s name on a name tag, and putting the tag on someone else’s back. That person, then, had to figure out who was on the tag by asking only yes or no questions. I turned out to be Marilyn Monroe–got it in three questions, with the help of a hint–and the colleague who wore my tag was Lance Armstrong. “Am I a male?” she asked another teacher. Then, “Am I an athlete?” And then, “Does my sport involve a ball?” That did it.)

Three highlights from the speakers and the discussions they organized:
…Everyone has a story–to write or be written. Each of our lives is a story.
…Each person needs to ask, “Who am I? Why do I matter?”
…Middle school teachers are more concerned with students than with content.

Speaking of budget-crunching, the bulk of another kick-off in-service for all of the county’s secondary English teachers was led by a central office student intern who hasn’t yet student taught. That afternoon’s only redemption was the bittersweet irony of my ride: I carpooled with the coordinator of last year’s “our school goes green” campaign…in her huge SUV.