on the beginning of another school year

A letter to my friends:

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”
~~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Dear Teachers-Peeps,
Tomorrow you head back into the battle - never enough resources, never enough hands, never enough TIME. You begin each day with the desire to be inspirational, informative, and innovative - and then that first bell rings and you are surrounded by a host of small, medium and big problems, all needing a snap decision. And over two thousand times an hour - hour after hour, day after day, you're going to make those decisions and hope the end result is an improvement.

You're going to be pummeled again by the press, and parents with unreasonable demands, and politicians who have not clue one about what you do or how you do it. You are going to have your time wasted with yet another "initiative" as schools, burdened under hopeless and unreal expectations, try desperately to throw another "fix" against the wall and hope something, please God, will STICK. And you WILL resist the urge of reminding people that schools only reflect society - until society 'passes', the schools will continue to 'fail'.

So, may I take a moment to remind you that you ARE what is right about education. You CHOSE to make a difference. You UNDERSTAND that what you're doing may not show its rewards until many years have passed. You work in enforced isolation, yet totally dependant on others - parents and society - to fulfill THEIR part of the equation, knowing full well that if the child fails, you will be the one to be blamed.

You are there because civilization needs a dedicated person to transmit the culture from one generation to the next. You do it despite the lack of recognition, the lack of monetary gain, the simple lack of respect, the unfair demands on your time, your energy, and your own resources. You do it because that is what you ARE: The teacher.

To my young beginning teacher-peeps: You are about to embark on a journey that requires great courage. You will discover what really tired means. Be good to yourselves. Know when to call it quits at the end of the day. Don't beat yourself up when you can't win every battle for a student. That first class is always just a little more "special" so ENJOY them. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Give yourself permission to fail. It's OK to tell a student, "I don't know". And then work with them to find the answer together. For many of those little faces in your class, you are the glue that holds their world together. Remember to give them a soft place to fall.

So, let me thank every one of you for your tenacity in not giving up the fight, your enthusiasm, your compassion, and your willingness to reach down and give every kid - whether they're in your class or not - a hand up. You don't hear it enough: THANK YOU!!!

Have a great beginning. And a great middle. And a great end to this coming school year.

xoxo The Dinosaur