Where do I begin?

Where do I begin? Thirty years of teaching have filled my heart and mind with indelible images of hope, despair, success, struggle, epiphany, drudgery, rapturous jubilation, debilitating grief, whimsy, standardization, and every in-between adjective and superlative depicting life in general and life in a classroom specifically. The more you see, the more you learn, the more you know, the more you realize that although life changes, circumstances change, strategies change, and styles change, human nature remains quite the same. The students of whatever age entrusted to our care long to be known with the unique gifts they possess, long to be safe and tenderly cared for, inspired to learn, challenged and held accountable to grow, given opportunities to serve and share, and celebrated when they achieve. Teaching will forever be about this, and anything less would be superficial, meaningless, and sad. Life has indeed become increasingly complicated, complex, and hectic, therefore, now more than ever, we teachers must affirm our students toward confidence and security as we lead them toward new and exciting doors of discovery and windows of wonder. It's an amazing time to be a teacher; the responsibility is immense, the promise is brilliant. Where do I begin? I begin with the students.