Be the ECHO!

Being the baby of the family has many benefits.  Time. Attention. Gifts. Love. Yep, I got all of these and more.  I am grateful to my family for everything they provided and more.

I copied lots of things my older brother and sister did. Growing up in the seventies, there was a distinct fashion sense and my brother spent a lot of time grooming himself.  So did I.  

I learned how to use a blow dryer at 8 years old just by looking at him do his hair! Looking like my brother and having the John Travolta look was a must for me.  

Music was always playing in my home.  If it was not hardcore salsa from Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon and the Fania All Stars, then it was disco.  My sister loved to hustle with her friends in the middle of our living room floor.  So did I.  

Dancing was like an out of body experience for me and I did it everywhere, even at school.  During inclement weather, we would ask permission and play the LPs on the school record player.  It was incredible.

We all learn things from our family that help us grow and become better people. As an educator, I have taken these two things: grooming and dancing to help my students grow.

Every special occasion in school, like a moving up ceremony, I see boys with a necktie or collars that need fixing.  I can’t resist from helping.  After, I always remember my brother when he helped groom me.

When I taught high school, I started a Latino Heritage Club to connect immigrant ELLs from Colombia and the Dominican Republic with school and their culture through dance.  We did not learn how to hustle, but I did teach them basic salsa moves that involved partner work, turns, and shine.  Seeing my students dance together reminded me of my sister when she danced with her friends.  

We all ECHO something (pass it along).  Knowledge, values, a skill or an activity.  We get them from our family or a special group where we learn something positive, something healthy, something that makes us happy.  We pass that along because we are meant to.  

When we share, we grow and so do others.  When we grow, we are all better.

As this school year begins, ECHO the positive.  ECHO those things that help students become better.  It might be new information, a new strategy on how to solve a problem or how complete a task.  It might be how to tie a necktie, or how to complete an art project or sing a song.  It might also be a new dance move.  

No matter what it may be, be the ECHO this school year.  You may be surprised at what comes back.

What things did you grow up with that you have ECHOed to your students?

How do you ECHO effective practices in your classroom?

How are you the ECHO in your school? In your community?

Looking forward to learning from your comments!