I CAN'T - AN INSPIRITIONAL STORY.
I am most happy to share this "I CAN'T - AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY"
with you.
Are words like "I Can't" flooding your mind recently? Perhaps
it's high time to dump them for more uplifting words and what
better way to learn from this story below:
Donna's fourth grade classroom looked like many others I had
seen in the past. The teacher's desk was in front and faced the
students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most
respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary
classroom. Yet something seemed different that day I entered it
for the first time.
My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage
implementation of a training program that focused on language,
arts and ideas that would empower students to feel good about
them and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the
volunteer teachers who participated in this project.
I took an empty seat in the back of the room and watched. All
the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook
paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student next to
me was filling her page with "I Can'ts". "I can't kick the
soccer ball past second base." "I can't do long division with
more than three numerals." "I can't get Debbie to like me." Her
page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She
worked on with determination and persistence. I walked down the
row glancing at students' papers. Everyone was writing
sentences, describing things they couldn't do.
By this time the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to
check with the teacher to see what was going on but I noticed
she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt. "I
can't get John's mother to come for a teacher conference." "I
can't get my daughter to put gas in the car." "I can't get Alan
to use words instead of fists."
Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher
were dwelling on the negative instead of writing the more
positive "I Can" statements, I returned to my seat and continued
my observations.
Students wrote for another ten minutes. They were then
instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the
front. They placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty
shoebox. Then Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box,
tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the
hall.
Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway
down the hallway Donna entered the custodian's room, rummaged
around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoebox
in the other, Donna marched the students out to the school to
the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig.
They were going to bury their "I Can'ts"!
The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth
graders wanted a turn. The box of "I Can'ts" was placed in a
position at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with
dirt. Thirty-one 10 and 11 year-olds stood around the freshly
dug gravesite. At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls,
please join hands and bow your heads."
They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond
with their hands. They lowered their heads and waited. Donna
delivered the eulogy.
"Friends, we gathered here today to honor the memory of 'I
Can't.' While he was with us here on earth, he touched the lives
or everyone, some more than others. We have provided 'I Can't'
with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his
epitaph. His brothers and sisters, 'I Can', 'I Will', and 'I'm
Going to Right Away' survive him. They are not as well known as
their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and
powerful yet. Perhaps some day, with your help, they will make
an even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace
and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in
his absence. Amen."
As I listened, I realized that these students would never forget
this day. Writing "I Can'ts", burying them and hearing the
eulogy. That was a major effort on this part of the teacher. And
she wasn't done yet.
She turned the students around, marched them back into the
classroom and held a wake. They celebrated the passing of "I
Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. As part of the
celebration, Donna cut a large tombstone from butcher paper. She
wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle.
The date was added at the bottom. The paper tombstone hung in
Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year.
On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I
Can't", Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then
remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the
statement. I wasn't one of Donna's students. She was one of
mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her as
years later, I still envision that fourth grade class laying to
rest, "I Can't".
So ditch the "I Can'ts" in your mental mind and replace them
with their greater siblings 'I Can', 'I Will', and 'I'm Going to
Right Away'.