I am not among the wealthiest people that I know but if I compare myself to the entire population of the world I am indeed rich. I never achieved fame for the work that I did and none of my blogs have gone viral. Mine has been a rather quiet life, mostly routine and average. On the other hand if I were to consider the quality of the friends whose company I have enjoyed I would have to admit to being blessed beyond measure. It is in the people who have crossed my path and stopped to share extraordinary moments with me that I have become a woman of distinction. Perhaps there is no more interesting and accomplished person among those with whom I have shared a cup of tea than Seng-Dao Keo. Continue reading “A Wealth of Friendship”
Category: Teachers
My Winter Sabbatical
My life was determined by work and traditions for so long that I have continued even long after retiring. I have always rushed from one task or event to another from my birthday in mid November all the way through Christmas Day. This year was no different. I have my regular round of cherished activities to uphold and they make me very happy indeed. The days in between Christmas and New Years Day have generally been a quiet sojourn for me. Mike was a retail banker by trade and he had little time away from work at this time of year. He was lucky if he got off early on Christmas Eve and unless Christmas landed on a weekend he was right back at work the day after the big holiday. Of course I was an educator and I had a nice long winter break so I was able to wish him well as he scurried back to work and then roll back under the covers to steal a bit of extra rest.
I suppose that I should have felt a bit guilty that I had such a long vacation and Mike did not but somehow I always believed that Mike would see through my fake sympathy and know that I was far too happy about my own free time to worry about his lack of it. Besides, he was one of those people who never even came close to using his sick leave and vacation time. If he had worked for a business that paid for all of those accumulated hours at the time of retirement he would have had a nest egg worth at least two years or more of income. Instead he was quite dedicated to his work and understood that his customers, employees, and employers depended on his being in the trenches with them. Thus I was free to determine my own fate during the days leading up to the new year and I always chose the ways of a hibernating bear. Continue reading “My Winter Sabbatical”
Changing Places
In an article that I saw on Facebook a former teacher turned administrator spoke of spending a day shadowing a student and taking part in all of the activities including doing labs, taking tests, and completing the homework. She found that this little exercise was a defining moment for her. Suddenly, by walking in the students’ shoes, she had a fairly good idea of what their school days were really like. Sadly her analysis was not particularly favorable toward the routine of classrooms.
The educator learned that during much of the day students spend inordinate amounts of time sitting and being urged to stay quiet. She found herself wanting to get up and stretch and the instinct to yawn was quite difficult to overcome. By the end of her experiment she was more exhausted than she ever imagined she might be but there was no rest for her weary mind because she still had hours of homework to do. All in all she developed a whole new attitude about the life of a student and wondered if we all too often expect behaviors from our young that we ourselves would not want to endure. Continue reading “Changing Places”
A Beautiful Life
Many years ago I was working at Paul Revere Middle School when I had the pleasure of interviewing a young man who was seeking a position as an English teacher. There was something magical about Bob Buley that game across during the interview. He had a twinkle in his eyes and an enthusiasm about life and people that made him enchanting. To say that I was quite taken with him would be to underestimate my strong desire to hire him on the spot. I was quite pleased to learn that the principal was in total agreement with me. We both viewed Bob as being someone who would be passionate and warm in his approach to teaching and it took little time for us to learn that we had indeed been right in our initial assessment of this young educator. Continue reading “A Beautiful Life”
The First Days
For most people a new beginning and the opportunity for change is heralded by New Year’s Day. For me the feeling of renewal has always come with the first day of school. It is a time when everyone brandishes a clean slate and once again there is the potential to erase mistakes and to improve. Everyone shows up on day one with hopefulness, a bag full of fresh supplies, and usually a new pair of shoes. Even the teachers boast new haircuts and not a single staple is hanging from their carefully prepared classrooms. It’s truly a day of optimism when even a meltdown on Wall Street lacks the power to kill the joy.
Of course the sense of renewal and excitement is sometimes tempered very quickly. It’s easy to determine just how dedicated to learning the students will be within a very few minutes. A group that sits quietly and attentively on the first meeting has the potential to be molded and motivated. One that demonstrates its propensity for mischief from the start is more likely to require a firmer hand as the days and weeks go by. The class lists change as quickly as the weather and all of those efforts to personalize seating charts go up in flames. There never seem to be enough textbooks for each of the students no matter how well the needed numbers were considered. An experienced teacher knows how to punt because it is a rare first encounter with the students when all goes as planned. There will always be slackers who return without completed summer assignments and those who insist on challenging authority from the get go. Still the skilled teacher knows that it will be the most fun bringing around the most difficult characters. Continue reading “The First Days”
All It Takes Is A Little Love 