“Unlike ‘success’ and ‘failure’, ‘contribution’ has no other side”.
- The Art of Possibility,
This is a wonderfully liberating statement! I live by the idea of not leaving anyone worse off for having known me, and hopefully better off after having met me. A kind of modified version of the Hippocratic Oath. I learned long ago that to be happy required living by my own standards. I have also chosen to measure success by my contribution. This is critical to my sanity and ability to do my job. I am often criticized by my co-workers for being highly educated and choosing to work with students with special needs and behavior disorders. “Why are you wasting your time here? These students don’t appreciate you. You need to be teaching gifted or advanced students somewhere else.” These are the types of comments I get daily. I realize my co-workers are just curious about why I am not “successful” or pursuing success. They do not understand that I am successful and working on exactly what I want to work on. They do not seem to understand my belief that at risk and special education students need a good and dedicated teacher even more than the gifted and talented students. Those students will often succeed no matter what. However, exposure to a good teacher for at risk and unmotivated special education students could literally save their lives. I cannot bear the idea of not being in love with ideas and learning about new possibilities. Unmotivated students live in this unfathomable state daily. I find success in seeing the wonder in a student’s eyes at experiencing a new way of looking at the world. I live to overhear students quoting me. These are the measures of my success. Although my students may not discuss intellectual topics with me or pass all the correct standardized tests, I enjoy my time with them, and know that I am making a contribution. I do not measure myself against a norm, only against my values. Choosing to view my contributions rather than successes and failures allows me to love the storms encountered in my life, and the lessons they teach.
What is "success" is such a fundamental unexplored area. To even know that this is something to be explored is half the battle.
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