Redding School District

As hard as he tried, he could not get the hang of the medical profession.  Ordinarily,when someone is not suited to be a doctor, he or she will not make it through medical school.  Arthur however, had a great mind and did quite well with the academic side of medicine.  It was after he completed his education when his difficulties began.  For example, in October of 1890 he traveled to Berlin because he had heard of a doctor who discovered a cure for pulmonary tuberculosis.  For weeks, Arthur learned all he could about lungs.  Somehow, all it did was inspire him to become an eye specialist.   

Then Arthur attended a series of lectures on ophthalmology in Vienna.  After Arthur arrived and was sitting in the lecture hall, poor Arthur realized that the entire series was in German.  He did not fully understand German and certainly didn’t understand the sophisticated terms needed for the medical field.  Arthur did remain in Vienna for several weeks learning how to ice skate.

Once he returned to England, Arthur decided he would set up his practice.  For years, he looked forward to having his own private practice.   His office on Devonshire Place put him in the midst of some of London’s most renowned and most respected physicians.  Some of the names of those specialists that Arthur had known all of his life were now his neighbors.  He felt as if he had arrived.   Therefore, he hung out his shingle and waited.  Nobody came.

He and his wife had thought it would be slow going at first and anticipated the building of a practice but all the days that followed were like the first.  No one visited Arthur’s office.  Not a single patient.  Day in and day out Arthur walked to his office arriving at 10 am and staying until 3 or 4 each afternoon.  Weeks went by and still he failed to attract a solitary client.  Arthur was a doctor failure.   Almost as if he was destined to be disappointed in the field of medicine. 

Did I tell you how Arthur killed time while waiting for no patients to arrive?  He amused himself by writing.  He turned what was little more than a hobby into a full-time profession.  If Arthur had been a success at medicine the literary world would have been less complete.  Our main character was Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

People have always strived to find their way to success and often times it comes from unique moments of opportunity that look a lot like failure.    It is these moments of failure that we struggle with over time.   Some of our kids have so many moments of failure that they literally see no way to get to success. 

There are many positives going on in our classrooms across the partnership.  I have witnessed first-grade classes integrating growth mindset statements and activities in everything they do.  Those students loudly saying, “I don’t have this yet.” Middle school classrooms challenging kids to use their hearts while they challenge their minds through project-based activities of their making.  Fifth graders who are challenged to come up with evidence on how they are doing in their learning in order to hold the parent conference next week.  They also set goals on what they would like to see for the next trimester.

I commend all of our educators who are striving to help our students be prepared for the ever-changing world that we live in.  We know the landscape of possible careers will change for our students as they grow older.  Helping them to build the eagerness within to learn and the strength to overcome challenges they will face will ultimately prove to serve them well in their lives.   Certainly, knowing to take advantage of a moment of failure might be the one moment that changes their life as it did for Arthur Conan Doyle.

Have a great weekend,

Rob