Lesson(s) Learned

Today, when I walked into my school classroom, there it was. Again. In the same spot it was several days before, and for several days in a row now. The realization was not quite fun, but the daily reminder was starting to get just sheer frustrating. And for that reason alone, it annoyed me and nudged me to move, to correct it, to make all things right in my little 4th grade classroom. What in the world am I talking about, might you ask. (?) A poster, that's what. A smallish poster containing a chart of the United States capitals, state birds, and state flowers. And where was it? On the floor. For what seemed like the fiftieth time. As I bent down this morning to re-stick this poster back on the wall. again. again. again. again. I looked at the back, saw all sorts of mounds and clusters of different kinds of tapes. Considered stapling the poster to the wall of the classroom. Saran wrapping it. Hot gluing it. Anything. Just...

This morning, I had the great opportunity and privilege to serve some of my little current and former students alike at their GOTR (Girls on the Run) 5K race. After check-in and about an hour helping little girls get all pretty-fied with hair clips, hair colors, GOTR tattoos, and GOTR stickers, I walked to the finish line to wait for the first little runner to cross. About 25 minutes or so after the beginning alarm rang, the first little girl came racing down the finish line shoot. As she did, I experienced something I never had encountered before. Roars, chants, screams, and cheers rang joyously from a crowd of people who were perfect strangers to this girl. On her precious little face, you could see the weariness, the sweat, and the determination. As I stood there - simply amazed at the hype and the experience of it all - tears filled my eyes, and this verse's paraphrase popped into my mind:  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a ...

Earlier this week, I realized that I did not have a Mother’s Day project for the kiddos to do, I searched frantically in my black hole of a teacher’s closet, found something quite cutesy that would work, and quickly sent off the master copies to be printed for all my little darlings. When I returned to the room with my fresh copies in hand, the students were all gone to one of their special subjects (music, p.e., art, etc.). All except one. Which one? The one that needed to be there. The one God placed there to prick my heart with the stark reality of his mere decade-long life. As this precious bright-eyed little boy stood before me, I stopped and thought to myself, “Eeeee. Now, this project wouldn’t be fair for (fill-in-the-blank). He isn’t allowed to see his mom.” What’s more unfair than a silly little project is the sobering reality of his life, reflected in the following dialogue that occurred several months ago when he transferred to my classroom mid-year: FLASHBACK Student: “...