“Burns, Oregon? Where… where is that?”
When our publishers first told us that we had been requested in Oregon, we were stoked; we hadn’t yet done any travels to Oregon and we were thrilled to bring a full menu to the state that houses Tillamook cheese.
…even more stoked when we Googled it and found it’s a three hour drive from Boise, the nearest airport.
That drive, blanketed in snow, gave us time to wonder about the teachers who serve students in remote areas. Surely, those rural folks are often forgotten, so they’d be quite receptive to learn about the #mtbos and all the free goodies that come with connecting to a larger community.
How right we were. In the crowd this weekend were teachers from boarding schools, rural schools with heavy-bussing communities, and a one-room schoolhouse where the teacher has three students this year.
They dove right in, though. As usual, we discussed the Mullet Ratio, and this crowd had two responses that stunned us:
Kimberly: Lots of my students ride horses, we could do the horse ratio! Comparing the tail to the forelock!
Vaudrey: …yeah! Okay, um… whatever that means! Go for it!
Carla: I would be careful about actually using the Mullet haircut as a silly example; it’s a common hairstyle among the low-income community I serve, and they don’t need any more reason to feel self-conscious.
We talked for a while, and all agreed that it depends on the student with the mullet; some might enjoy the added attention and being the star for the day.
Throughout our Friday together, one theme ran consistent:
Teachers know their students, and will modify anything to better fit their needs.
The teachers in Harney left with a copy of Classroom Chef, the promise of our continued support, and our encouragement to take a risk in their own, unique classrooms.
Those students will benefit from risk-taking teachers, too.
~Matt and John