Be the Coffee

     I have been struggling for the last few weeks writing Student Learning Objectives or SLO's. In New York teachers who do not administer a state assessment must have 20% of their evaluation based on an SLO.; This involves creating a goal for some sort of an assessment. For example, "70% of students will score a 75 on the end of year assessment." Teachers must have one of these objectives to cover at least 50% of their rosters--- so some teachers have 2 or 3 of these. The problem is I am not so sure this system is really going to be very effective. They are making teachers highly anxious, and the writing of them is taking up most of my days. I am trying hard to keep this in perspective. Then I remembered the first day of school. On that day, I told an old story to my faculty. It always helps me.

Once upon a time there was a wise old woman and her daughter. 

The daughter had married and had nothing but hardship. The young woman went to her mother and told her about her life’s struggles and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed as if when one problem was solved, a new one arose.

 Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon, the pots came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

 In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.'

 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

 Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.   She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  

The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

 Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? The daughter wondered, “Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?

 Did I have a fluid spirit, but when I experienced hardship did I become hardened?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a hardened heart?

 Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changed the hot water.  When the water got hot, it released the fragrance and flavor.

I ask you, “Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

I must remember to  try to be more like the coffee.