Skip to main content

appreciation

Today was our last day of online class. Never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would be saying those words or living this reality. It was, much like our virtual track meet on Tuesday, one of our best days of our distance learning experience. I would still have preferred to be together but it seems distance makes the heart grow fonder. I appreciate each of them and our class as a whole so much more deeply than I think I might have if we'd been going through our usual routine. It's so easy to get caught in a mentality of just getting through to the end of the year. I'm thankful for the slowness, for the shift in perspective, that this time has offered. 

As part of our time together I read them a story called The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. It was hard not to cry while reading it! The message is this: we are all, always, connected by invisible strings of love that connect our hearts and we are never really alone. Such a sweet way to end our year and this strange time of being apart. 

To end we each took turns sharing what we have appreciate most about our class.

I am so grateful to have had the experience of having a class full of boys. It was truly an honor to be their teacher and share this year together. They are some of the most kind, thoughtful, caring, helpful, creative and curious, energetic and FUN people I know. I have missed them so much this past term and I don't know what the future holds but for now I'm just going to feel this appreciation for what is and what has been.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

grace

Sometimes when I tell people that I'm a teacher they say something like, "I don't know how you do it!" and I laugh and reply "I don't know either!" But the truth is, I do know: I'm not the one doing it. So who or what is? Well, you can call it what you want - grace, magic, energy, intuition, Divine Mother or God - but sooner or later you start to realize there is something else at work that you can't quite see or fully understand.  I had a sweet, magical moment one afternoon that reminded me that Divine Mother knows just what each of us needs in each moment. I had gone down to the Village center to use the stronger internet connection to upload something for my class. While I was there waiting for things to upload I sat in this beautiful communal space all by myself feeling a bit sad and out of sorts. Not even a few moments later a little boy from the community came walking by and went to check on a nest of birds they'd been watching in a bus...
Post a Comment
Read more

skylights

Swami Kriyananda once shared a superconscious dream he had where he talked with Yogananda about a difficult situation saying "The doors are closed." Yogananda's response: "Don't overlook the possibility of a skylight" and then he added, "A sense of adventure is needed." We are definitely looking for skylights these days when it comes to planning for the upcoming school year. The number of considerations and possibilities seem endless. Now this can seem frustrating and overwhelming but it can also seem incredibly expansive.  Anything is could happen.  There's at least two ways you could say that: with a sense of dread or a sense of excitement. Will we trudge through, wishing it could be otherwise, focused on all that is lacking? Or will we embrace the opportunity before us to completely reimagine our school year and the learning experience we provide? So far it seems, we are choosing to have a sense of adventure. The ideas that are coming up see...
Post a Comment
Read more

difficult conversations

The energy it takes to avoid a difficult conversation is much more uncomfortable than the energy it takes to have the conversation. Many times it's the anticipation is many times worse than the actual conversation. Our minds play out all sorts of worst case scenarios.  This is in the case where we know the conversation is coming. But what about when we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of, or even listening in on, a conversation that suddenly becomes uncomfortable? Perhaps someone has said or done something disagreeable, confusing or unexpected. These things happen regularly in the classroom - kids really do say and do the "darndest things." They say and do mean things to each other without thinking. But these moments are also just a part of life. The question is, how do we react or respond?  Most of us fight, freeze or flee. It's how our brains are hardwired to respond to stressful situations. The problem is, this response gets in the way of learning and growth. ...
Post a Comment
Read more