Redding School District

Partnership Educators,

Gillian was only eight years old, but her future was already at risk. Her schoolwork was a disaster.  She turned in assignments late, her handwriting was terrible, and she tested poorly. Not only that, she was a disruption to the entire class, one-minute fidgeting noisily, the next staring out the window, forcing the teacher to stop the class to pull Gillian’s attention back, and the next doing something to disturb the other children around her. Gillian wasn’t particularly concerned about any of this — she was used to being corrected by authority figures and really didn’t see herself as a difficult child — but the school was very concerned.  This came to a head when the school wrote to her parents.  The school thought that Gillian had a learning disorder of some sort and that it might be more appropriate for her to be in a school for children with special needs.  

Gillian’s parents received the letter from the school with great concern. Gillian’s mother put her daughter in her best dress and shoes, tied her hair in ponytails, and took her to a psychologist for assessment, fearing the worst. Gillian was invited into a large oak-panelled room with leather-bound books on the shelves. Standing in the room next to a large desk was an imposing man in a tweed jacket. He took Gillian to the far end of the room and sat her down on a huge leather sofa. Gillian’s feet didn’t quite touch the floor, and the setting made her wary. Nervous about the impression she would make, she sat on her hands so that she wouldn’t fidget.

The psychologist went back to his desk, and for the next twenty minutes, he asked Gillian’s mother about the difficulties Gillian was having at school and the problems the school said she was causing. While he didn’t direct any of his questions at Gillian, he watched her carefully the entire time. This made Gillian extremely uneasy and confused. Even at this tender age, she knew that this man would have a significant role in her life. She knew what it meant to attend a “special school,” and she didn’t want anything to do with that. She genuinely didn’t feel that she had any real problems, but everyone else seemed to believe she did. Given the way her mother answered the questions, it was possible that even she felt this way. Maybe, Gillian thought, they were right.

Eventually, Gillian’s mother and the psychologist stopped talking. The man rose from his desk, walked to the sofa, and sat next to the little girl.

“Gillian, you’ve been very patient, and I thank you for that,” he said. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to be patient for a little longer. I need to speak to your mother privately now. We’re going to go out of the room for a few minutes. Don’t worry; we won’t be very long.”

Gillian nodded apprehensively, and the two adults left her sitting there on her own. But as he was leaving the room, the psychologist leaned across his desk and turned on the radio.

As soon as they were in the corridor outside the room, the doctor said to Gillian’s mother, “Just stand here for a moment, and watch what she does.” There was a window into the room, and they stood to one side of it, where Gillian couldn’t see them. Nearly immediately, Gillian was on her feet, moving around the room to the music. The two adults stood watching quietly for a few minutes, transfixed by the girl’s grace. Anyone would have noticed there was something natural — even primal — about Gillian’s movements. Just as they would have surely caught the expression of utter pleasure on her face.

At last, the psychologist turned to Gillian’s mother and said, “You know, Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn’t sick. She’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school.”

Gillian Lynne was a renowned choreographer and dancer.  She is best known for her ground-breaking choreography work on Cats and Phantom of the Opera productions in the '80s.  Gillian directed or choreographed over 60 productions.  She worked on 11 feature films, and over 150 television productions.  Gillian Lynne passed away this last July at the age of 92.  In her biography, she said, "I can't tell you how wonderful it was when I walked into this room, and it was full of people like me.  People who couldn't sit still.  People who had to move to think."

Many of our most non-compliant children are looking for ways to express their physical needs in the stationary world of school.   I am proud of our progress towards accommodating our little Gillian's around our district.  I see in many of our classrooms items like standing desks, alternative chairs, and devices that help students who need the movement to focus.  I also observe visual cards being used for students who need more than verbal cues.  These are devices that would have helped a young Gillian from our story above.  

For those of you who have had to work closely with me, you know that I am a verbal processor.   Meaning that I talk to myself constantly about the information that I am trying to understand or produce.    I have had many neighbors to my desk ask the questions, "What?  Are you talking to me?"  When I am really just talking to myself.  As we work on our Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) at our schools, think in terms of what our vision is and how we make sure all of our students have access to that vision.  Eagerness to learn is another way to say curiosity.   Children are naturally born curious and often will spend hours watching something that we find very mundane.  Character Lab tells us that as adults we can help with curiosity by modelling the fact that you don't know things, celebrate when children ask questions and get things wrong, and to enable time for kids to discover answers to their questions and then share what they found.  Paul Silva, PhD Psychology at the University of North Carolina, says that " The key to interest is that novelty for the beginner comes in one form and novelty for the expert in another.  For the beginner, novelty is anything that hasn't been encountered before and for the expert, novelty is nuances about the topic.  Check out Character Lab and its resources for more information. https://www.characterlab.org/curiosity 

Thanks for a great 2018.  I am looking forward to wonderful new discoveries in 2019.  You all are amazing and enjoy some time off and love your families and friends.

Vision: All students will demonstrate an eagerness to learn, achieve success and be creative, productive, healthy, responsible citizens.

Rob