I don’t wish for much. I’ve always lived within my means and been a stubborn worker, oftentimes putting job in front of everything else.
Today was the last day before break and kids were amped up on sugar products. I got a chance to just talk with many of them, laugh with and at them, be an idiot, and to get a general feel for how everything went the first 66 days.
I loved having F students bring me tamales, A students bake treats for others, and the overall sharing and silliness that accompany a last day of school before an 18-day break. Still the stubborn one, though, I have my wishes for 2017.
Please let the next 114 days go as quickly as the first 66. I work with some cool people, who I hope know I think they’re cool people, and want their days to be as rewarding as school allows.
Allow my students to understand that trying is not a bad thing, that failure is not forever, and that someday they’ll be old and want these years back–the insulation of high school as opposed to the world that will crush too many of them.
Give my students’ minds the ability to think past themselves. Empathy and understanding of others’ circumstances is bad enough in the real world, but high school can be used as an adjective for a reason.
Find me some energy to keep at them. Every single day should be confusing and thought-provoking. It should also feature laughter.
I wish I could get better books, better lessons, better food, people from the outside world, field trips, better schedules, less school and more action.
I’m sure most of my colleagues want the same things, but one can never be sure if it’s the malaise of the students that rubs off on teachers, or vice-versa. There’s a reason the Christmas break needs to be many days–we’re tired. At least I am.
Oh, I also wish that I could get together with everyone who has crossed paths with me in education. Maybe some of the folks could work a lure through a river and see who caught what. Maybe others could talk about a kick-ass movie or TV show or book or music. We’d put aside education-ease for a day and eat a baguette with salty butter, some cheese and fruit, wash it down with something tasty. We’d yell and howl and smoke cigars and stay up too late because we were having a good time.
We had a good time once, didn’t we?