~stand by dear friends for my best year ever~

Miss Rose Davis was my fifth grade teacher back at Haven Grade School and although it seems impossible after the passage of well over 50 years now, I can still recall the sound of her voice and remember the smell of the cologne she used to wear.  I don't know that she was ever married or for that matter had any children, but come to think of it she really didn't need any children.  

She had all of us kids.

I have plenty of good memories of the teachers I had as a kid growing up in the small town of Haven, Kansas.  I'm happy to say that in all the years of my youth there was only one teacher that I didn't relish sitting in class with each day of the school year.  I'd say that's a mighty fine record and a testament to the public school system there.  99.9 percent of the time, my remembrance of educators was filled with folks who loved and cared deeply about the welfare of children.  Although I'm sure others weren't aware of it at the time, I have no doubt that my teachers must have dug deep into their pockets to provide for what we all needed.

That idea has a familiar sound to it.

Yesterday I sat in my classroom at Liberty Elementary for a while.  I had gone there to work for a couple of hours as I continue to get things ready for a new year.  I was at my desk and for some reason I looked out at the empty space where soon the kids' desks will be placed.  I began to wonder about what the year would be like and I found myself asking out loud the question that I wonder each year about this time.

"What will the kids think about me?  What are they going to remember in the years ahead of the times they spent in this classroom?"

My greatest of hopes is that they will truly have known how much their fifth grade teacher loved them and that every day I came to school prepared to help them on their path to the future.  This coming school year is just one stop in life for them and in my heart I know that I want this one to be their very best one.  My desire is that next year as sixth graders, their new teacher will feel the very same way.  As educators, each of us should strive earnestly to make every year our very best one ever!  If not, well it might time to do some rethinking on our part.

You know, it's a given that I'm running out of years to be a teacher.  My age and years of experience in the classroom are a signal that I keep in the forefront of my thinking.  It's not a bad thing that I do that either.  It's a good reminder to not become complacent about having a position in the first place.   Keeping that in mind encourages me to put into practice all of the good things I have learned over the course of 4 decades plus continually learning new strategies of teaching each day.

I've had such a wonderful life as a teacher.  99 percent of the time, my experience has been truly awesome.  The other 1 percent provided a way to learn to improve my teaching skills as well as keeping me humble and grounded.  

There has never been any doubt that I chose the right vocation for myself. 
I was born to be a teacher and I'm so glad that God chose this life for me.
Stand by dear friends, for my best year EVER.

This is our classroom community bulletin board and one of the first things I always like to set up in my room each year.  I am a firm believer in the idea of community and I strive each year to make kids feel as if they truly belong together as a group.  The ideas on the board reflect that philosophy.  I will be emphasizing the character traits that are shown there in addition to plenty of others.  Our community rock jar waits to be filled on that first day of school.  Although there are plenty of academics and standards to teach children each year, the greatest of things that I teach them are shown on this board.  I tell the kids always that it's wonderful to be an exemplary reader or mathematician but what good does that do without the ability to be a good person in heart and spirit?  Kids are smart and they understand.