Just like the cycle of the seasons, summer fall winter spring, each term seems to turn with great speed. Here we are, the end of finals week of the winter term, with stacks of papers and piles of work samples to be reviewed before the brief freedom of spring break can set in.
I want to take a minute to pause and give thanks. I’m grateful for all of the learning that occurred this term. I feel lucky to have met and worked with inspiring, bright student teachers. Each day, in the expectant faces of my students, I feel encouraged to be the best possible teacher I can be.
I’m grateful that at the end of the term my students take the time to thank me for my hard work and ensure that my efforts have paid off. Of course it feels good to hear that my students learned an incredible amount of content knowledge in my courses, but nothing quite beats hearing them tell me that I’ve modeled what it means to be a great teacher. That statement just warms my heart to no end. Honestly, I’m so focused on the ways I want to improve my teaching practice that I often neglect to celebrate my successes. I will look back at these comments when I need a boost of encouragement. So…thanks .
But perhaps most of all, I feel the need to praise the loved ones that surround me each day. I wake up in the morning and I know I’m loved. I sit down to dinner and I know I’m love. I go to bed and I know I’m loved. I’m blessed with a supportive, caring, understanding family. This factor has been the unsung hero of my career in higher education. I feel blessed beyond words.
So, as I reengage in the grading process I will go forth with gratitude in my heart. Enjoy this quote by Melody Beattle:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a future for tomorrow.”
