Hopes And Dreams

I am to report back to school next week to start another year. I love the beginning. I love the prospect of a fresh crop of students. I love the start up...the preparation. For me it is a little like the holiday season. I make lists and run errands. I work on this and that to make everything just right. I put a lot of thought and planning into creating a learning environment where students can be successful and reach their full potential.

I work in a low income school in a fairly small town. My students come to me with a variety of needs. I know that I will have students with many challenges both in and out of the classroom. I want so much to help them know that they are precious to me and that resiliency is a blessing. I want them to know that they have the power to control their own destinies. I want them to know that the choices they make are the key to success. I want my kids to know that their hopes and dreams have no bounds, that they are limitless and full of possibility.

As educators, we have the opportunity to change our world. We are given raw materials every year that can be shaped, molded and refined by our encouragement, guidance, and challenge. We have more waking hours with our students than any other influence. We can use that time to build them up and strengthen them with the tools necessary to survive in an ever changing world. We can reach their souls and impact that piece of them that still desires fairness, kindness, and respect. We have the ability to position our students for success in not only their own lives individually, but as a culture and a community.

Maybe I am idealistic. Maybe I am self important. Maybe I see possibilities that do not really exist. But, maybe I am right. Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe my students will grow to be adults with empathy, responsibility, and the discipline to create a life that will be a blessing for many, a treasure for some, and a dream for themselves. That is my hope & dream. I hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and dream of success for each and every one.