Partnership Educators,
The names in this story have long been lost but suffice it to say that it happened once upon a time. A young miller was well known and well loved in his hometown which was in Holland. He was chronically poor. Don't misunderstand, this miller was a hard working fellow and maybe the most industrious of his community but he had a weakness. He had a soft heart. Whenever someone in his town was in need he would come to their aide with money or bread or flour. He was such a great friend to the poor that he often found himself one of them.
Then one springtime this young miller fell in love. The problem was that this girl's father was one of the few townspeople who didn't admire the miller's generosity. Anyway the father had another man picked out for his daughter, a prosperous pig farmer with a herd of more than a hundred. We can certainly imagine the conversation between father and daughter. I am sure it followed familiar lines of reasoning. First the daughter would protest her dad's insensitivity towards her feelings and the father's stern resolve to prevent the mistake of his little girl's lifetime. "She is too young to know what is best," he would say. Until it was apparent that the young lady would have her way no matter what. The father replied that if she was determined to be poor in life, she might as well get a head start. There would be no dowry for her wedding.
It was a credit to the girl's persistence that she accepted her father's ultimatum. She promptly proceeded to make plans for the ceremony. That was only the beginning. Remember all those needy people had assisted with gifts of money and bread? When they learned that he was getting married and learned that the bride's father disapproved and refused to provide the traditional dowry, they decided to put together the dowry themselves. The gifts weren't as extravagant as the dowry might have been but a few plates, some pots, and other items of need. They gathered together and went to the bride's house and gave the gifts to her. You might say that they showered her with their gifts. This spontaneous Dutch treat to a local bride who was in love with a generous man initiated the custom of the bridal shower.
We truly value the fact that all kids can learn and that our generosity of giving towards their needs is what makes the difference. Many of us will see that generosity return to us like the miller's wife but more often than not we will not personally see the return on our investments. The greatness of our system comes from the abilities of the people who serve those students. Our ability to work together and make powerful process choices in order to continue to improve outcomes for all students. As we move our processes more and more towards a collaboration model of collective inquiry, stay focused on the results for our students. Helping our students become successful, productive, healthy, responsible citizens within our community is one of our highest priorities. As you engage each other in action research, learning science or collective inquiry models I encourage you to embrace the failures and learn to overcome with generosity towards each other and the students we serve. I truly believe we have the capacity to make a grand difference across our many varieties of student groups.
When Thomas Edison was asked why he was so prolific an inventor, he replied that it was a result of what he called the “multiplier effect.” He placed his team of inventors near each other to encourage them to consult with one another so that each member of the team benefited from the collective intelligence and failures of that group. His teams not only worked better but faster. (Smith 1985 American Enters the World
Enjoy your weekend,
Rob