Throwing Out the Blueberries

We gathered at the Coliseum, teachers from all over the county, most of whom were restless and ready to be in their classroom preparing for students (which in and of itself is QUITE a job)! Many grumbled about things like the traffic, the late start, and the long list of things they'd rather be doing instead of occupying a hard bench seat and listening to yet another "speaker". The guy giving us our back-to-school pep talk, however, was no ordinary blah, blah, blah educator...he is a successful business man turned staunch education advocate, and man can he deliver a fabulous message!

At the beginning of his talk, he eluded to the fact that he knew we'd have preferred to be doing the "business" of school preparations. He talked about his background, how he'd built a little Midwest ice cream company that made stellar ice cream...and then it skyrocketed into the stratosphere of fame. He told us of his once very narrow-minded view of education, in general, and educators specifically. And then he dropped the blueberry bomb! I'm sharing a clip of that portion of his presentation below. It is a story I will never forget! And for me, it begins a more focused "conversation starter" for this career path I am on and love so much.

I could say to you, "Children are our future," but that's a cliche' that you already know. The truth is, however that statement is tossed around, particularly during an election year, it really is on point. We, as a people, across the globe, cannot afford to NOT properly educate our youth. It is the most important job we will ever do and it is not an easy task. I was staggered by Mr. Vollmer's (our key note speaker) claim that over 70% of people who make decisions for education in the United States don't even have children in public schools. I was panicked when he talked about how in communities outside of the "education world", many point fingers at "us" (i.e. the teachers), saying we are a big part of the problems in the world today. But mostly, I was inspired by a man who completed changed his ideas and perceptions after walking a "block" in our shoes.

I hope you'll take time to watch the entire segment of "An Evening with Jamie Vollmer: Schools Cannot Do It Alone", which can be found on YouTube and is worth the time. At the very least, however, I hope you will be aware of and a part of a conversation about how we can all do our part in creating a better world, starting with the enrichment and education of our youth.