There is something quite satisfying about locking down my classroom for Winter Break, shooing out the kids, and saying, "See you next year!" It doesn't change the fact that I'm taking home a bin full of essays to grade, or that I still need to order the AP Psych study guides, or that there is a full month of school in January before the end of the semester. No, it doesn't change that. But somehow, the idea that we've successfully survived the fall (not to mention the rest of the year) makes it seem like we will come back to a new start.
For my students, it will be the beginning of the year in which they will graduate from high school, their single most impressive accomplishment thus far in their lives, and the first step in their journey to independence.
For Caleb, the new year means a new school and new services that will help him continue to catch up at an unbelievable pace.
And for me, the new year brings a birthday (the last one in my thirties-YIKES!), new challenges (how DOES one grade an FRQ for AP Psych??), and new opportunities to explore (will there be a mission trip in my future?).
One of the best things about teaching is living a life with punctuation. I'm grateful for the commas in winter and spring, and the period in June. I need those opportunities to stop and reflect before gearing up for my next chapter, wherever it may lead.
1 comment:
So, I can be slow, but when I read the title of your blog post, it came across as "Coma" and I expected to read some kind of "life is spinning out of control - someone just put me in a coma and wake me up when it's over" post --- but instead I find this wonderfully poetic movement through the seasons of our living. Thanks!w
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