As I sit here at 1:30 in the morning and think about the week before and the week ahead, I realize just how good things are and how much we are enjoying what we do and what we are doing. There is a difference.
Some of the old kids have returned for the summer, and it's a joy to see how much they've grown and realize how much they have given us as teachers and people. They are more than students; they are old friends now, and important in our lives.
The children who are enrolled now for next year - especially those in Miss Kelly's class are developing that friendship quality as we speak. I think that's why Miss Rachel used to cry when she lost a class who was graduating. It always took her so long to grieve over one and then fall in love with the next.
Every class has a dynamic. I'm really looking forward to moving my kids up and seeing them in that role as the "big kids" and assuming the next ones from Mrs. St. Louis's class. It means going from sentence writing and math games to "this is the way we sit at the table, and this is called a pencil." It's always such a return to basics. The game for me is how quickly I can get them from point zero to 100.
It's a bit like a car. I drive an eight. Yes, it costs me billions at the gas station, but there is actual room in the car like yesteryear and I don't feel like a sardine; I feel like a person. If it makes some people feel better, I don't use air conditioning. I use real air, and yes I have to turn up the radio because I can't hear it over the breeze, but the acceleration is wonderful in an eight. When you put on the gas, the car actually moves quickly, and that's what I want in my classroom - quick acceleration from point, "I don't know where I am" to "I understand everything."
Can they do it? You bet. Does it take effort? You bet. A classroom is always a work in progress, and that's the key word here, progress. Progress is not a freezer commodity. It's never "inert." Progress is never parked in the lot; progress is the eight at the light. Progress may be in a holding pattern, but when we accelerate, we have launch. It costs billions in gas, and brains are expensive to run, but when you think of the outcome, the fact that children are learning at lightning speed, no price for gas is a luxury; it's all the bottom line.
This year I am thrilled to begin our year with Miss Kelly. She is first rate- a joy to be around and an exceptional member of the team. It's going to be interesting to see where she takes my graduates. She has the really tough job because her polishing is what puts us on the map. Yesterday she did some testing again for school purposes and the results were exactly what we thought. Most of our children are where they are supposed to be. Some are advanced, and none are behind. That's truly exceptional and I attribute it to her. Miss Kelly works extremely hard with every child and has a perfectly wonderful grasp on personality. She often makes me laugh when she says the bulls eye thing.
Tomorrow we are going up to Hemlock Cliffs. We have not been there before. The sheep farm canceled, so we're going hiking. If it's a bust, we'll probably go up to Spring Mill. There are so many treasure points tucked away into Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, it's hard to be disappointed. The weather is supposed to cooperate.
Next week is the trip to St. Louis. It's our big adventure. We will probably leave at 7:30. We need to know how many parents are going for the sake of having enough food.
And so goes the world at the GS.
The picture is one of Beve Pietrowsky's. She's a spectacular photographer.
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