The Spark of Learning: Reach for the Stars

This month, my little sister got married. Actually she got married on May the 4th, as in "May the 4th Be With You"...AKA Star Wars Day. Her original plan was to have a small backyard wedding in the summer, which I fully supported. We even set up a borrowed tent & awning in the fall to be sure it was big enough. A few months ago, she informed me that they were thinking of moving the date up to May 4, to coincide with Star Wars Day and that it would be held in Las Vegas. Like most educators, May is my busiest time of the year, and I cringed at the thought of taking two days off during the week. In addition, we had to quickly order costumes for the ceremony. My sister informed me that I would be dressing as the evil Darth Vader (hidden message??). Finally, she told me that the ceremony itself would be out in the dessert in a dry lake bed. My practical, skeptical mind kept saying "Keep it simple. What's the matter with a backyard wedding? In summer...when I'm off work!"

Well, the day came to fly out (after a long day of work) and the very next day was the wedding. We didn't have much time to catch up before the ceremony. The men went to one room to put on costumes and the women to another. Soon all of us came down to the hotel lobby and my sister (Princess Leia) and her soon to be husband (Han Solo), saw each other for the first time in their wedding outfits. It was very moving. Soon we were all in a van driving out into the dessert as we followed the minister to a dry lake bed. It was approaching sunset and when we arrived, it truly looked like a landscape from another planet. I walked down the patch of dessert to give my sister away and the look between she and her husband was a mixture of "I love you" and "We actually did it!". Standing in the dessert next to my wife (Queen Amidala), I was thinking, "This is the coolest thing in the world. I'm so glad we did this!!" My next feeling was of guilt for not embracing it fully until we were there and enjoying the magic of the moment. My sister had followed her dream of a unique wedding and turned it into a reality through determination and despite skeptics like me. I was learning from my little sister.

As educators, we often have to bring reluctant or skeptical students on a journey that they may not want to go on. Maybe, like me, they are thinking, "This is too much work. Can't we take the easy way?" It's our job to motivate, encourage, and support them on their journey until they reach the point where they say, "Wow, I'm glad I did this!" or "I'm thankful I know this now". The hard part for us is that point may be far in the future and we may never see the fruits of our labors. I know as an adult, there have been many times I've been grateful for teachers who pushed me to do more and be more...although I wasn't grateful at the time. We can all learn a lesson from my sister. When everyone is telling you to keep it simple and stay in the backyard, follow your dreams and reach for the stars!

PEARLS OF WISDOM

"Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don't give up." - Rachel Corrie

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." - Casey Kasem