I have been fighting so hard against my own complacency and newfound pessimism toward education. I had lost my rose colored glasses amidst the rest of the mess in my house and desperately needed to find them again! You will be happy to know that I found them... in class on Thursday afternoon.
We had a panel of experienced teachers in our seminar that afternoon. It was so refreshing to hear them speak with such hope for education. I began to remember that I went into this field in order to make a positive impact in the lives of children. I was the eternal optimist that thought 'if I work hard enough and put forth a positive demeanor, I CAN make a difference'. I wanted to create a classroom environment in which ALL students felt safe, valued, and successful. Why had I lost that vision for myself? Thankfully I was able to recapture my vision that afternoon. Thank you teachers who took time on your day off to speak to us. To paraphrase one of the teacher's reasons for coming back to teaching day after day, year after year... I believe that we can change the world.
