Hello Beautiful People,
It’s about that time of year for educators across the country — summer break is on the horizon. It’s close. It’s so close you’re daydreaming about beaches and sleeping in and there’s no red pens in sight.
And with those daydreams comes a bit of unrest.
A lack of focus.
A lack of caring.
Attention spans fading by the second – across the board.
When the days get longer and the sun gets stronger, the children get restless.
And then that thing happens that always happens around this time of year, (at least for me) – you start to doubt your skills. You start to wonder if you’re any good at this.
You start to feel like a bad teacher.
Lately I’ve felt like the worst teacher on the planet. The standard questions have been running through my head on repeat – am I good at this anymore? Am I reaching them anymore? Are they hearing me? WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!
This year, I have a class that, as a whole, I’ve enjoyed teaching more than I can put into words. They have been the children that made me remember why I teach. They have been the bright faces that encouraged me. Their spirits have taught me. Time and time again this year, my time with them has gotten me through my days.
And then in these past couple of weeks of June Blues – I hear that they aren’t as close as what I thought…and my heart broke a bit.
So, true to my own form, I called them out on it.
I said I hoped the rumor mill was wrong.
I said I was dissapointed in what I was hearing. I said that I expected more from them. I told them that if I taught them nothing else, let it be the art of compassion. That people everywhere, whether they choose to believe it or not, just want to be seen. They want to be seen. I reminded them that smilling at a person you don’t talk (or text) on the daily basis can very often make their day. That the heartbeat of humanity is about connection.
And I hope to God that they were seeing each other, outside of the walls of the theater. Cause after all, whether, it’s about connection, isn’t it?
Today they came into class shouting, “Min! We made a group chat. It has all 21 of us. We titled the thread “Family”, and we gave it a big red heart. We also decided to all wear black today. We need to take a picture later”
…. My heart practically exploded.
I couldn’t be more proud of such a beautiful group of kids, and I cannot wait to hear about all the things these beauties do as they grow into their future selves. Whatever happens, well, I know it’s going to be off the charts.
To my fellow teachers — I promise, even when it doesn’t seem like it, they are listening. They are listening. They hear you, and your words will resonate.
Live, Love, Learn,