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The Miracle
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5 thoughts on “The Miracle”
I think that what binds us together in our work here, to some degree or other, is a faith in the invisible. This involves an awareness (based on daily experience) that what is unspoken and unseen in our classrooms is more real and more compelling than the visible world, or the appearances. There is also the understanding that what happens in this realm is of far greater consequence to our and our students’ well-being (and acquisition). We have a faith in the idea that everything that we put out there is being absorbed by the class, each individual on his/her own terms and timeline, and that what we give of ourselves will brew deep inside those souls, perhaps for months or years, before any trace of that influence is made manifest in a student’s outward appearance. This lack of instant feedback does not make our work any less important here and now.
None of this shows up on administrative/institutional measuring devices. Unless the administering the device decides to observe as a human being in a room full of human beings. We cannot control that, but we can control the focus of our classes. And it is possible to focus on the invisible.
Have faith and stick in there. I’ ve been around long enough to have former students who are not shy about saying that I was an important element in their lives. And often, the warmest praise comes from kids that didn’t seem that engaged at the time. I’ve had students that I thought I had failed with come back several years down the line and voice their appreciation. It gives me hope that even the ones that seem difficult today may get their act together at some point.
This and the garden post are really about the same thing for me and it is hard to keep it in mind in the midst of classes and good to be reminded about it.
The garden metaphor is perfect. I live in a climate where I can garden all year even in the winter. My friends and I share seeds and are always comparing our crops. The same seed reacts so differently given the different micro climates and soils. My friend’s lettuce is huge mine is tiny, her mustard greens are small where mine are humongous. At the end of the season we all have more than we can eat of everything.
Interesting metaphor, Martha, in that it speaks to how we teachers can better see the fruits of our labor when we combine the harvests from all of our classrooms. (Or did I stretch that a bit? Ha!)
Well, this article juxtaposes nicely your other recently posted article, “When to Focus on Writing?” about your principal suggesting you should raise the bar on your expected student growth objectives.