Kids are not numbers

It says I'm overweight!

Right there on the BMI Calculator.

But that's an improvement. According to the BMI, I used to be obese. And, perhaps, I might have been.

But that was over a year ago. Since then I've started exercising more consistently. I'm eating better. I'm eating less.

And I've made progress.

But a number is a number. The problem is a number is not the story. A number helps tell the story but it is not the story.

In schools we sometimes forget that. We test our students. We get a number back. We begin to believe that the number is the kid.

But it is not.

The kid is the kid. The kid has a number - a test score, a grade on a test - but that number is not the kid.

The kid is the kid. And the kid has a story.

I believe that our job is to help the kid tell their story, find the ending that she wants, find the ending that she could have, create a story that is rich, complex, fascinating. That requires that we learn about our students. That requires that we care about our students. That requires that we listen and look and help our students.

That requires that we see beyond the number.

Because the kid is not a number.

The kid is a kid. And the kid has a story.