Please read about Mr. Wright, a brilliant physics teacher in Louisville.
An award-winning film was made about him, not just because of his vivacious, unorthodox teaching style, but because of his love for his son, who was born profoundly disabled. Please read the story about him in the New York Times and watch the video.
The video is amazing.
It will make you grateful for your blessings.
It will humble you.
It might change your life.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Mr. Wright can inspire an entire group of kids who may want to be a teacher just like him! That’s what happend to many of us. It only takes one awesome teacher who cares beyond subject matter, reaches into your soul and changes your life, forever! What a gift, a real Mensch!
Beautiful, absolutely wonderful story. Thank you for posting, Diane. Happy New Year!
Clearly Mr. Wright is just an entrenched LIFO lifer who’s in it for the paycheck and the huge pension. Exploding pumpkins, indeed! How’s that going to raise test scores? Doesn’t this man know what’s important in schools? And if his school tolerates that kind of “teaching”, it clearly needs to be closed immediately and turned around, preferably by a reputable charter company. The sooner people like Mr. Wright are replaced by motivated, eager young white affluent females, the better this country will be!
(/sarcasm)
Sorry, love can’t be measured on a test or observation check sheet, nor can it be represented on a rubric. There is no way to make money off it, so it’s out.
Some of the comments in the NY Times article were about not discussing God in class and sarcastically the lost of test prep time during his lecture.
Dienne,
Well said. No excuses for Mr. Love, we need to see his VAM scores!
Mr. Wright is a treasure beyond, and above “measure.”
Wow! Talk about Love… Hope…Joy… Inspiration…Connection… Community… from Mr. Wright’s home to his classroom!
This high school physics teacher shares his life story with his students… and lets them know as they ask Why? And explore How in class AND life… Underneath it all is Love….
This should keep us all going and standing strong, remembering we are lucky to spend our lives dedicated to our profession with love at its core, many times over in the course of each day.
I am having trouble posting on the last thread.
Diane, Maureen and friends:
Can we promote the United Opt Out Occupy the USDOE event…April 4th to April 7th.
There is a list of those attending and possibly speaking. Diane, you are listed. I hope that is accurate.
Apparently, when I try to include the link it will not post, so google United Opt Out and Occupy the USDOE, April of 2013.
It turns out that Love is nature’s final law after all, at least for us homeotherms.
For the first time, I wonder if getting to the other side of despair might actually have been worth the pain involved. For me, maybe, and for Mr. Wright, and for our students even, but what about for our sons? I still can’t wrap my heart all the way around it.
It’s remarkable how much his classroom looks like mine. Thanks for the video, it’s one of the most important things I’ve seen these past forty years.
I hate to sound cheesy, and I’m sure I’m marking myself as a total sap, but my husband and I went to see the movie version of Les Miserables on Christmas Day and I had tears streaming down my cheeks during the final scene among Jean Valjean, Cossette and Marrius, especially the line, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” I like the idea of love being a physical law.
Love unfortunately is not unconditional on this planet but this great teacher comes very close in this beautiful piece. Maybe some people can learn from this and move away from all hate. Lets stop spreading hate, rumors and fear and starting loving more!
My dad graduated from Louisville’s Male High School around 1940. He was totally blind and a student at the Kentucky School for the Blind. They had a program where older students from KSB would take classes at Male as well. There were only white boys at Male in those days, but some of them were blind.