Someday is Today!

For the past several years, I have had a vision of what I want my classroom and my curriculum to look like (within the bounds of what our department has collectively decided to teach).  I keep telling myself that someday, I will do the things that I know I want to do, that I know are best for kids.  Someday, I will take the time to read professional books until I find one that aligns with my teaching beliefs.  Someday, I will take several hundred dollars to buy new seating for my students.  Someday, I WILL do all of these things.

This summer, I had a colleague and mentor tweet a quote that stood out to me: "Would you want to be a student in your own classroom?  Would you look forward to coming to your class each day?"  Wow.  Talk about powerful ways to think about decisions in my classroom.

This got me thinking about a former student of mine named Audra Reed who is now an excellent, outstanding, inspiring librarian in our district.  I had the opportunity to teach her my very first year of teaching, and I taught her ornery, silly, jokester brother named Eli three years later.  It is one of my very favorite memories because she was my senior aide in the same hour that I had her brother in class. Across the classroom, she would "mother" him for not studying for a quiz, or they would hug each other by the windows as Eli messed up her hair. I was blessed to be witness to this, and this has forever changed me because Eli died unexpectedly a few years ago.  It was at this time that Audra posted that her role as a teacher was so important because of the fact that so much of Eli's life was spent in a classroom.  She was thankful for the love he was shown from his teachers and coaches, and she vowed to make sure that her classroom was a safe, fun, loving environment to her students because you never know how short life can be. You never know why that certain student was placed in your class or how they will change you or the world. This rocked me to my core. I reflected and prayed that my class had been a good experience for Eli and for his sister a few years earlier.  This has never left me.

So this year, I decided that SOMEDAY is TODAY. This will be my 14th year of teaching. What the heck am I waiting for? If someday is not today, then when is it going to be? My students deserve someday to be NOW! Not next year. Not when I can truly afford it. Not when I get a raise. Not when my own kids are older. Not when my husband's job slows down a bit. My students deserve NOW because I only get one year with them. I get one year to make a difference in the lives of my students - be it academically or personally. I only get one chance. Do I know what my curriculum will look like? Not exactly. Do I know how flexible seating will work in my classroom - nope, sure don't. I do know, however, that my students are worth the chance, and that if it doesn't work, we will figure it out together because that's what families do.