A Reader Shares... Game On!

A LYS (and first year Game On!) Principal shares the following:

Sean,

One of my initially skeptical teachers shared the following with me this week.

“Partly because I'm the one who spoke up about negative feelings about Game On, I wanted to share something a student said today. After taking a district math quiz, one student found out that another had passed, and he exclaimed, "Way to go! You helped the team!"

I couldn't have been more floored or more proud. FINALLY, here right at the end, some are starting to get it. So now I've decided to do away with the words pass or fail... instead we will be described as helping the team or not helping the team.”

I responded, “I can't tell you how much I appreciate you telling me about this. What a great way to prove one of the key elements behind the whole Game On philosophy! This has certainly been a year of learning for ALL of us -- and it is so affirming to see that the kids are getting it. Now, we can use this type of momentum to go into next year, making even more progress. It is teachers like you who will really make the difference.”

Just thought you might want to know.

SC Response
Darn right I wanted to know. I have visited over 30 campuses this month. And they divide into two distinct groups. The large group consists of campuses where the staff is counting the days for school to end and is about to crash and burn from stress. We’ll call these campuses the self imposed victims of fate, otherwise known as non Game On! campuses.

The much smaller group of campuses have staff that are still running at full speed, working with motivated students and striving to teach and learn more before they run out of days. These campuses are disappointed that the year is coming to a close because they can sense that they are close to accomplishing something special. We’ll call these campuses the self-aware masters of their own destiny, otherwise known as Game On! campuses. The difference is as distinct as night and day.

However, as you are well aware Game On! isn’t’ for everybody. It takes one to two years of prep work just to get a campus to the point of tackling the semester of Hell that is the beginnings of Game On! Because Game On! is a pure, action oriented professional learning community. And as you have seen, though everyone talks about PLC’s, walking the walk is an entirely different matter.

So congratulations to you, your staff, and your students. It takes the first year to learn the system and see the initial results, which are career changing. From this point on, your campus is blazing a new trail into unchartered territory.

Hoo Rah!

Think. Work. Achieve.

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