{"id":804,"date":"2008-09-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chisnell.www216-119-142-248.a2hosted.com\/chizblog\/?p=804"},"modified":"2017-08-07T04:05:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T04:05:08","slug":"unique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/unique\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was as surprised as the next guy at seeing a too-familiar phrase on the entryway to ROHS this fall.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, there\u2019s still a little sting we feel when we see something which feels uniquely Kimball or uniquely Dondero: three years later, and we still step carefully around each other\u2019s loyalties to nostalgia. More, today I like to think that the sting we feel is because ROHS is ready to become something unique from both those buildings.<\/p>\n<p>And what will that be?<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/oaktowncrewz.jpg?resize=349%2C221&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"221\" \/><\/p>\n<p>All of us\u2014students, teachers, parents, principals\u2014recognize that we can be more than we are in our post-Skanska semi-renovated space.\u00a0\u00a0Why spend so many of our hours, so many of our days, moving through the patterns of routine?\u00a0\u00a0Why accept the mundane as the status quo? Some students tell me that they come each day only to wait until that final bell; a good day is when they aren\u2019t noticed.<\/p>\n<p>What is the high school we want?\u00a0\u00a0And how can we make it uniquely ours?<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/lacrosse.jpg?resize=352%2C280&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"352\" height=\"280\" \/>I can guess at a few things we might want:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hallways we can walk with freedom and enjoyment;<\/li>\n<li>Classrooms which spur our thinking and teach us what we need to know;<\/li>\n<li>Sport teams which earn our fandom and support;<\/li>\n<li>Clubs invigorated by members with exciting and ambitious plans;<\/li>\n<li>A social scene free of drama and full of friendships;<\/li>\n<li>A community produced by teachers and students working together to make it happen;<\/li>\n<li>A school composed of choices;<\/li>\n<li>A place where we look forward to our days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Utopian, I know.\u00a0\u00a0Na\u00efve, this suggestion that we work together to be happier together.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, as I write, I am watching Senators John McCain and Barack Obama both call for service, for a citizenship which recognizes community.\u00a0\u00a0By this, they mean that we commit to something larger than ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0They mean that everything we do is founded in a belief that we are building for each other.\u00a0\u00a0To me, there can be no more important education, no more important participation in our American democracy.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/flagcorps.jpg?resize=351%2C256&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"351\" height=\"256\" \/>If ROHS has any kind of unique and positive future for students and teachers, I believe it is in a high<br \/>\nschool which offers the space for us to create it and re-create it as our passions take us, in a place where we can leave its cinderblock walls and make the world our curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>There is much to encourage me this year:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We have groups of students traveling to China and Austria; we are about to have a small flood of students from Germany visiting us;<\/li>\n<li>InterAct is building programs to offer microloans to the developing world; it\u2019s watching Hurricane Ike to see if February will find 100 or more ROHS students helping rebuild Galveston;<\/li>\n<li>Clubs and classes are working together to create a mock national election which will also offer students a chance to vote on changes to the school;<\/li>\n<li>Student leaders are meeting together to re-envision how we can help each other;<\/li>\n<li>Challenge Days continue, reminding us that hugs are not just okay, but necessary;<\/li>\n<li>Our sports teams are growing, and SuperFans are now tradition;<\/li>\n<li>Teachers are working with a Code of Conduct to remind us of our roles in treating students with compassion and respect;<\/li>\n<li>Our principals are willing to say \u201cYes\u201d to ideas which seek to build community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/katrina.jpg?resize=349%2C262&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"262\" \/>Service to community is a unique reward, an idea that we receive what we give. We\u2019ve come from many places and generations to live in a single space during our waking days.\u00a0\u00a0What we learn in that space is to leave it with a broader\u2014a greater\u2014idea of who we are: \u201c. . . enter here to learn, go forth to serve. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was as surprised as the next guy at seeing a too-familiar phrase on the entryway to ROHS this fall.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, there\u2019s still a little sting we feel when we see something which feels uniquely Kimball or uniquely Dondero: three years later, and we still step carefully around each other\u2019s loyalties to nostalgia. More, today I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247,262],"tags":[341,331,342,343],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chizblog","category-education","tag-philosophy","tag-rohs","tag-service","tag-tradition"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/030209_0334_MeasuringSe8.jpg?fit=367%2C276&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":825,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/rohs-course-catalog-2009\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":0},"title":"ROHS Course Catalog &#8211; 2009","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2009 Jan 26","format":false,"excerpt":"Given a chance to re-create the Course Catalog for 2009-2010, and just in time for scheduling day, I offer the following new course proposals for you. Have an idea I forgot? Add it! \u00a0 Philosophy: Ethics Students will spend the semester pondering and arguing the contemporary dilemmas of 21st\u00a0century America,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2009\/01\/edcamp-header.jpg?fit=448%2C334&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":801,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/dress-codes-and-racial-insensitivity\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":1},"title":"Dress Codes and Racial Insensitivity","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2007 Sep 9","format":false,"excerpt":"Kevin\u2019s point surprised me, but it shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0\u00a0The drawing ROHS had distributed to students showing unacceptable school attire had another quality beyond the arrows pointing to bare midriffs and sagging pants: both of the illustrated students were\u2014arguably\u2014black. Kevin, an African American sophomore in my ELA10 class, was understandably angered by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/stock-kids.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":808,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/feel-of-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":2},"title":"Feel of the Future","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2007 Oct 20","format":false,"excerpt":"What do joy, nostalgia, and sadness feel like when you experience them at the same time?\u00a0They feel like my walk through Royal Oak Middle School this last Saturday evening at the Open House. As a premiere, it was well done.\u00a0Administration, school board, teachers, parents, students, former Dondero teachers, even the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/media-center.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":814,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/students-rule\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":3},"title":"Students Rule","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2007 Nov 19","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Earlier this summer I offered a proposal for a number of changes to enrich ROHS school climate.\u00a0\u00a0Here is one in summary: Activate a student court to address non-disciplinary issues between students.\u00a0\u00a0There are several models to build from.\u00a0\u00a0Recommend: three justices and two secretaries per case to hold cases during lunch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/gavel.jpg?fit=360%2C235&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":820,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/absurdism-101\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":4},"title":"Absurdism 101","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Feb 2","format":false,"excerpt":"Maybe I\u2019m in the mood to vent\u2014but why should I?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not like our world is full of the ridiculous, packed with the absurd, stuffed with the ludicrous.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not like I can\u2019t make sense of the planet. As I tell me Lit. of the Western World students, existentialists begin with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/051309_0100_OnBeingLost1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2089,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/on-frozen-dinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":5},"title":"On Frozen Dinners","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2018 Jan 6","format":false,"excerpt":"I liked being called smart. Who doesn't? And, so long as I didn't have to think too hard about my purchase, I would be a Smart One. Cool.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/smart-ones.jpg?fit=450%2C396&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/1564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}