Bedtime Stories - November 4, 2020

Bedtime Stories

By, Michael Earnshaw

@MikeREarnshaw

November 4, 2020

In the Earnshaw household, there are two camps when it comes to sleeping, heavy and light. First, my son and I are in the heavyweight division. Once our heads hit the pillow, eyelids close, we’re in a mini-hibernation until the morning hours appear. We don’t need much sleep, both of us are always the first two up in the house, but that may be because throughout the night we don’t wake. My wife and daughter, on the other hand, they’re in the light division. They fall asleep fast, but any little creak, whisper, or slight breeze electrifies their eyelids open! Unfortunately for me, I endure a lot of shakes, yells, and yes, even punches, to wake me before my natural biorhythm clock would allow. Now I know what you’re thinking, are you really complaining that your poor wife and daughter wake you when they’re scared at night? C’mon, I’m not that bad of a husband and father, so yes, yes I am complaining that I am awoken by their fears. Oh stop it, you know you would be too. Now it’s my time to redeem myself. Many nights I do get up and sleepily stumble throughout our house, checking every door and window to make sure they’re locked. I check the basement, both the finished living area and the spooky unfinished part that still has ceiling lights that come to life via a string. I check closets, underneath beds, and even behind shower curtains. I’ve learned throughout the years that they know, somehow, they just know if I lie and tell them I’ve searched everywhere. Now, I check everything and everywhere. After that, they are back to sleep and all is quiet again. There are some nights though, that instead of rising from my bed like a zombie taking their first steps, I ascend my head a few inches off my pillow, make sure my good ear is facing the doorway, and listen. I then tell them in my best Tom Waits voice that everything is fine, just go back to bed. And I do. The morning after these nights are always a hoot. My wife or daughter, or both, do the shuffle into the kitchen that I should have done a few hours earlier when they were scared. I’ll always ask, “How’d you sleep?” 10/10 times on these mornings I’m told, “Not good. I was scared, you should’ve checked for us!” Now, why am I telling you this? Do you care about what happens during the moonlit hours at our home? My guess is no, but let me explain why, if you’re an educator, you’ll want to. Those nights that I don’t check things out, I’m not helping my wife or daughter. I’m just moving on with my plans of getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep, and I get it sans the 2 minutes I said everything was fine. What about them? Do they get the same quality sleep they deserve? Nope. They are up, tossing and turning, listening for whatever originally awoke them, and many more sounds! Education is the same. Many times we reach all of our kids, checking on them, making sure they have complete comprehension of the material and concepts being taught before moving on. We do this because we know that education builds upon itself. If a student doesn’t have a grasp of the material, they will begin a spiral of being lost in lessons as the class progresses. This is why we have RTI tiered interventions, 504 plans, and IEPs. But do educators always ensure every kid has that understanding every time? Let’s be honest here, no, sometimes the world has turned and left someone there (who doesn’t love a classic Weezer reference?) I’m guilty of it. I’ve done it as a teacher and yes, I’ve done it as a principal. Why? Because it’s easier. It’s easier to move on. It’s easier for us to stay comfortable and get to where we set our plans to go. It’s easier, but it isn’t fair. I became an educator to inspire others to know their strengths, own their weaknesses, not to fear asking others for help, believe in the power of collaboration, and be determined to change our world for the better. I made this my personal mission for every student, teacher, and individual I have the honor of serving. My mission will not be met if I don’t get out of bed for every single one of them. It’s our duty to propel every student along on their educational journey. There will be times it is hard, frustrating, and uncomfortable, many times for us. We can’t make that an excuse. We must help every child, every time. The next time my wife or daughter need me to scan the house while the rest of the world is sleeping, well, I will. I made a promise to protect them long before I joined hands in marriage and brought my beautiful daughter into this world. Oh, my son? He’s sleeping.

Wave Pool - August 18, 2019

Wave Pool 

By, Michael Earnshaw 

August 18, 2019 

@mearnshaw158

 

My wife is 1 of 5 girls in her family. Every few years we embark on a large summer vacation with everyone, including family friends! When the kids were younger it usually consisted of renting a house on the beach for a few days. This summer, with many of the kids being older now, we headed off to Cedar Point! Many hear Cedar Point and think of the Roller Coaster Capitol of the World, which it does have an amazing assortment of thrill rides. The kids and I made it on every single one! There is also plenty to do for those that don’t enjoy rides, such as the beach parties and the water park. Needless to say, with a group of 18, there is something for everyone! 

While majority of our time was spent at the amusement park during our trip, I learned the most about our students and education during an afternoon at the water park. Mainly, the wave pool. The three older boys and I had come back from multiple descents on the plunge slides only to find the rest of our party gone. The boys wanted to take a break from the slides and check out the wave pool. I stood on the edge, with just my feet submerged, while the three of them headed out towards the middle. After a few minutes, my wife arose from the crowds with my daughter, our friend’s daughter, and our nephew. I glanced up at the clock, less than 2 minutes before the waves began. Of course, these three wanted to get in on the fun. My wife asked, “Babe, can you go in there with them?” I contemplated a response but knew this wasn’t really a question.  

Before I could catch up to the six kids, the buzzer screamed throughout the area, alerting us all that the waves were coming. I zipped and dodged through people, kids coasting by, nearly missing me on inner tubes. I kept scanning the pool for my six. Nerves starting to build up faster than the waves. Found them! 

Luckily for me, four of the six kids were pretty much together. My son and oldest nephew were a little deeper out, but both are strong swimmers. I was now left with four kids: two decent swimmers and two not so decent and vertically challenged.  

The rush of the waves seemed to last an eternity.  Every few seconds I would look over to the older two, ensuring they were ok. We communicated through head nods and thumbs up. Then my focus would go back to the four near me. The two that could decently swim never held on to me yet stayed close in the event they needed assistance. The other two needed my support. One of them would grab a hold of my arm after a few waves became unbearable. When there was a lull, they’d let go, but stay extremely close. The last, they tried to fight on their own, but quickly grabbed a hold of my arm and never let go, knowing we were too deep, and they needed the support.  

As the "fun” began to calm, I realized the wave pool is like our classrooms. Within them we have many students, all at different levels, strengths, and abilities. As educators, we must know our students and where they’re at to ensure they don’t drown. We will have students that are more advanced and excel, who want to go into the deep end alone. That is fine, if they are ready, but we must still always know where they are at. If they begin to sink, it’s our responsibility to swim to them, pull them up and bring them back close to us. We will have students that are strong swimmers on their own but need our support. Keep them close yet give them independence. These swimmers require a watchful eye. They may have too much pride and be afraid to ask for help. We need to be prepared to offer help when we know they need it. Lastly, we will have those that need our support constantly, or at least think they do. Keep them with you, show them success and some fun, and at the right time, slowly let them go. We may need to grab them back right away, but after time, they’ll be the ones swimming in the deep end, fighting the waves alone.