Breaking Down High Expectations - Sense of Urgency

Earlier this month when I brought up high expectations, I used this basic equation to describe the concept:

Tenacity + Deep Understanding of Standards = High Expectations

What is tenacity in instruction? Let's take a look at this concept. I think Teddy Roosevelt could have been describing the tenacity of teachers here in this excerpt (Man in the Arena) from his speech,  "Citizenship In A Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

How do we dare greatly in our classrooms? One way is the sense of urgency teachers with high expectations exhibit. When you see teachers pulling students one on one during morning work to reteach a concept they missed on an exit slip, using every possible minute of intervention time, or working with students every possible second or truly teaching "bell to bell" you see this sense of urgency.

Let's take a look at some examples from Paint Lick!  Earlier this week I got to see several of our special education and intervention teachers doing "breakfast lessons" with students. 

Talk about a sense of urgency and making the most of every minute!  These teachers always are working with students!

How about you?  Are you daring greatly in your classroom?  Are you making the most of every minute?  Minutes add up.  5 minutes every day times 171 days equals 14 hours and 15 minutes.  Is there anything you could do differently to act with a greater sense of urgency before the end of the school year?  We have 53 days left.  Let's dare greatly and strive valiantly until the end of the school year.