PBQ - Please Be Quiet. This is my acronym for students to say in place of "Shut Up!" which I personally can not tolerate.
Initially, I started this post just prior to the World Series, but my class schedule and the time of the games in the World Series did not permit me to finish it then. I was so aggravated at the prognosticators predicting incorrectly a winner and then pivoting to get behind the winner only to vacillate every time the score shifted. To honor my beloved husband, I will say congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, World Champions for this season. At this moment, my car is still festooned with celebratory Red Sox items, as is his car. I feel that perhaps by Christmas, it will be safe for me to remove them from my car. (I'm not a fan of that team, just a fan of my best guy.) Every day, we are receiving World Series goods and the celebration at Mrs. Teacher's house continues.
Then came the elections. Prognostications galore. Enough said. No matter what your party or view, there is always a prognosticator who discounts your candidate or viewpoint. Their vigorous claims make you want to hurl something at the TV. Deep breath. Mute button. It is at this point, you have to calm down and tell yourself that prognostication is not destiny.
My point in stating this is simply that whatever someone claims about your students, whether it is, "They will never change.", "They have a condition or limitation, so don't expect much," or "They have always been this way, don't keep killing yourself to help."
I say, "PBQ". I'm going to try anyway. I'm going to believe anyway. I'm going to hope anyway. I'm going to trust that maybe I can make a difference despite the hindrances or habits a student may have. So please, keep your prognostication to yourself. You may be right. I don't care. I want to try to help every student. Every day. Every single one. I don't care about their abilities, or their actions, I just want to make a difference. And because I believe I can, I know I will.
PBQ to the person who doesn't think it will matter. PBQ to the person who says it won't last. PBQ to the one who says I've already tried that and you won't get anywhere with it. PBQ to the dissenter pretending to be a mentor.
Destiny is not defined by those talking about what could happen. Destiny is driven by those working toward what could happen, and believe that it will happen.
First published November 10, 2018
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