Absolutely nothing is hard for me to do. Want me to sit still? Why?

It’s amazing to me how much we ask of children - goals we would never ever set for ourselves, or attempt reaching.

“Sit here in this chair and do not speak or move for 30 minutes.”

“Sit here in this chair and do not speak or move for 45 minutes.”

“Sit here in this chair and do not speak or move for 360 minutes of your day.”

We are throwing away joy and learning that could happen if kids could MOVE.

I would love to see a study of adults forced to do what an average 1st grader has to do. A room full of adults who have to ask / tell someone when they use the bathroom, a room full of adults who could not doodle, could not move unless they were given permission.

I would love to see how many of them would last an hour.

We expect too much of our kids and we need to change our schools.

But you would rather spend your time and money on guns and talking about a delusional narcissist addicted to power.

There are a whole lot of us who care more about kids than we do about guns and the assholes who run them: we’re called teachers.

And teachers aren’t given the power to turn their classrooms into joyful laboratories of learning - because they teach to the test.

I’ve spent decades now avoiding a full-time job in the public school system because I cannot stomach how children are treated in that system - a system i have fought for and will fight for anytime, because public schools are vital.

And, public schools also must learn best practices, and that often happens in other settings. Every elementary school teacher should be aware of and embracing project-based learning and the Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf approaches. All these educators have offered wonderful, non-traditional ways to reach children - but, at this point, they should be traditional.

And they’re not. Children are still learning on worksheets. Teachers are teaching to the test.

And what are we doing about it?

Absolutely nothing.