"Going to the Mattresses"

I've always liked the part in You've Got Mail where Tom Hanks quotes the Godfather to Meg Ryan about "going to the mattresses". Meg Ryan decides that she needs to fight for her little independent bookshop. She sits on her bed and puts up her dukes as she tries out the phrase, "going to the mattresses".

I was curious about what this phrase actually meant and so I did a little digging on reliable sources such as wikipedia and Urban Dictionary. ;) Basically "going to the matresses" is when a mafia family is going to war. They might rent an apartment to keep their family safe and there may only be matresses for them to sleep on. Members of the mafia may sleep there until they are called upon. It is a way for family members to stay safe and to protect one another, but it is also a way of organizing for a fight.

Now, in You've Got Mail it doesn't perfectly fit the Urban Dictionary meaning. But nonetheless Meg Ryan has decided to fight for her cause.

I am constantly amazed by how often my coworkers and I "go to the mattresses". On a daily basis we are fighting for our cause, our students. We are fighting to protect them and to give them the best education possible in a system that often seems to work against what is best for them. It is at times exhausting and in most cases frustrating. However, I feel that advocating for our students is one of the most important parts of being an educator in 2013.

So I'd like to encourage all teachers to "go to the mattresses". Our students need us and we can't shirk the responsibility of advocating for them. If we don't, who will?

Go to the mattresses to get that child the dyslexia or special education testing they need.

Go to the mattresses for the resources you need in the classroom for them to be successful.

Go to the mattresses so that they have books to read over the summer.

Go to the mattresses to make sure each child receives the accomodations assigned to them.

Go to the mattresses to ensure that other teachers and colleagues are educated in true research based instruction.

Go to the mattresses to meet the physical and emotional needs of each student.

Go to the mattresses so that each child feels safe and welcome in your school environment.

These are all things worth fighting for. So put up your dukes (and with grace and professionalism) fight for your students.