I spent a good part of the day today working in my new classroom. After teaching 1st grade for ten years, I am excited to move down the hall to 2nd grade. I was thinking today, that I don’t remember much about my own 1st grade teacher, but what I remember about my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Albright, and that 2nd grade year, helped to shape my life in some important ways.
In second grade I learned to create. My teacher invited an artist to visit our classroom and we got to create all sorts of wonderful things. In second grade I learned that it’s not always wise to pursue what one wants at the moment. I got in trouble when I talked to the girl next to me asking to borrow a silver crayon. I learned that I could do well in spite of bad circumstances when I managed to get good grades on my report card in spite of missing more than 20 days of school due to illnesses including chickenpox and a hospital stay for an appendectomy. I learned about “class” from my 2nd grade teacher who was well travelled and had a certain flair that I had never before noticed in someone I knew. In 2nd grade I learned that the gifts I am given are the ones I am meant to have. My teacher gave us each an Advent calendar as a gift and got upset when we started trading them with one another, and made us give them back to the person that had them to begin with. Mine had a beautiful candle in the center of the picture that was for the 24th…my birthday. I realized eventually that my teacher had cared enough to choose that one especially for me. I still have that Advent calendar, and I still have fond memories of my 2nd grade year.
As I begin to prepare to teach 2nd grade, I am mindful that now, perhaps more than ever, the things that I do and say, or don’t do and say, will have a lasting impact upon my students. I want the room to be just right for them. I want the way I interact with my students to meet their needs. I want my students to feel safe at every level and be happy to come to school each day. I want the lessons to inspire them to love learning, not just to prepare them to pass a test. I want my students to be able to think back when they are 50 and say, “I remember my second grade teacher and 2nd grade was an important year.”
We rearranged the room in which my pet rabbit spends most of his time. He had particular spots where he liked to lay and his favorite hiding spot was under my platform rocker. The room now has a different look and feel, and I like it. It’s taking bunny a few days to adjust. He’s been sniffing in every nook and cranny and has not yet settled on new “favorite spots”. We were given a rocker-recliner that’s seen better days but is very comfortable. I no longer like the style of the platform rocker; it’s in very good condition so I plan to sell it at the used furniture store.
This first day of the new year found me in my classroom preparing for school to resume tomorrow. I rearranged the desks and changed a few other things as well. The room looks different and a bit more open. I think we will like it. I look forward to seeing the surprised looks on the children’s faces when they come in tomorrow morning.
When a new year begins there is only one thing that we know for sure will take place in the 12 months ahead: change. Many things just do not stay the same, and that’s not a bad thing although at times we fight some of the changes. We may have to find new “favorite spots” as we are drawn out, or forced out, of our comfort zones. Change is often a breath of fresh air. Change in circumstances, or even a room arrangement, changes us. It is up to us whether or not the change in us will be good or bad. Even a bad circumstance that forces a change can have a positive effect if we allow that to happen. I pray for the grace to accept the changes that come into my life in this year and to allow those changes to change me, and stretch me, and make me a better person.
One last thought on the topic. My parents have lived in the same house for more than 50 years, and there are at least two rooms that have been the same color all that time. The most recent redecorating took place in 1976. I find no comfort in that sameness, although obviously my parents do. Sometimes when I go into that house I feel stuck in time, and to me that is uncomfortable and boring.
note: the publish date says Dec. 25, but it’s really the 24th as I write this.
Today is my birthday. Not just any birthday, but the Big 5-0. The birthday I’ve been dreading for years.
Somehow I’d gotten the idea that the age of 50 was the beginning of the end, or something. I certainly wasn’t looking at being 50 as an assest. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in recent weeks though, and I have decided that this attitude is something that needs to fade into the past along with the decade of the 40’s.
I know lots of people that are older than I am. Many of them don’t seem any older to me, but I know that they are. As I’ve thought about people I know that are older than I, I have discovered that they all do cool and amazing things. Some of those things they didn’t even start doing until they were past 50. For instance, there is Dick who is perhaps old enough to be my father. He sings in the church choir even though it’s difficult for him to climb the steps to the choir loft with a foot that gives him trouble all the time. He takes voice lessons and sings in recitals. Then there is my dear friend Kerry who holds two jobs, sings, paints, quilts, and writes books to give to all her neices and nephews and a few others. Wow! We go walking together so I know she’s in decent shape too. Linda, who is about 15 years ahead of me in the age range, hikes in Colorado where she and her husband moved only a year ago. She leads Bible studies and does tons of other stuff too, and this all while dealing with health issues as well. My aunt Martha has lost a kidney and is diabetic, but manages to care for her handicapped granddaughter many days during the week, volunteers at a hospital, and goes to a health club to keep fit. Jo has survived a divorce, lost lots of weight and is looking super, is still a great teacher after more than 30 years, and is winning another fight with breast cancer. And she has a sense of humor to boot! The list could go on; I’ve discovered that doing interesting and valuable and fun things is not just for those in the realm of the young, or even the middle-aged.
So now I’m beginning to think that perhaps the best years of my life may be yet to come. Compared to when I was say 35, I am more confident, wiser, sassier, and I no longer have children living at home. I also laugh easier and longer, feel freer to be me than I ever have, and care less about what others may think. I am full of potential!
The first full week of school is over and I have two days of , well probably not rest exactly, but at least a change of pace and a little extra sleep. Another two weeks and things will be easier. I will be used to the routine. The kids will have grown up a bit and learned more about how to act in class. We’ll all be used to each other. School won’t be new anymore, just normal.
I learn as much as the kids; I believe every good teacher does. In an effort to bring some peace into my classroom I played Mozart on the CD player most of the morning. The kids liked it and and we were all more peaceful. I think I need to stock up on classical CD’s and keep the music playing. I also realized that my own state of mind has at least as much, if not more, influence on how things go as what the kids do or don’t do. I need to find my place of peace and stay there. The kids want to be where I am, and will join me there if I am patient. Lord, help me.
Change is in the air. Summer is passing and the wind blows in fall even as I write this. Hubby and I sat by the campfire on the back deck this evening and roasted hot dogs and made s’mores. I love the smell of woodsmoke. Whenever the seasons change, I become hopeful for a change in my spirit as well. I need change. I dislike winter, but I remind myself that those daffodil bulbs hiding in the ground will never bloom again unless it gets cold for a while.
Peace to me. Peace to you. Peace to us all. In the name of the Great Peacemaker. Amen.
This blog is the new and (hopefully) improved version of Along the Way/Along the Way of Grace previously published at blogspot.com. I’ve imported the old blog in it’s entirety, but will be deleting (possibly) many of those old posts and re-categorizing everything as time allows.
Change is exciting, so stop again and find out what life is like with Ladygrace.
