Day 19 (of 190) still thinking of @joe_bower
Posted on October 2, 2020 by technolandy
Just remembering some educators who inspired me, and one name that keeps coming to mind who was taken too soon… was Joe Bower
It may be a covid thing, but I have been thinking of educators that we lost ‘too soon’ – my dad being an early one in my graduation year, but others throughout the years as well. Covid certainly makes it easy to think of how vulnerable we are as human beings and how important the connection to an educator can be. This is magnified for me as I work with a crew of UNBC students through an Education 101 (overview of education) course and have to do a lot more reflection than I already do!
One of my favourite Joe Bower statements: Recognition contradiction: children who get the most recognition don’t need it & children who need it the most don’t get it.
Sigh. It is always “after they’re gone” that we do the best recognition of educators and other important people. I’m not a huge fan of “educator of the year” awards, because awards = competitions and are we competing for recognition in what we do? is it extrinsic motivation that moves us as educators (hoping for those Christmas gifts/bribes?) or intrinsic motivation that if we get recognition, so much the better? interesting? ehhh? meh? I mean, I was super proud of one of my friends when he was acknowledged for his work last year (and not after a passing) Troy White. And probably because I know he is not out campaigning for this type of recognition. Maybe we need to look for more Joe Bowers and recognize and celebrate their accomplishments prior to a death… or retirement… or ???
I think I need to do some more thinking on this and considering how we can have more celebrations without awards. After all, even the grinch recognized that “it” is more than being about gifts and things…. if you know an educator who has made a difference with/for you – let’s spend October reaching out and saying ‘thanks’. Gonna start some phone calls next week….
Technolandy 