My Classroom.
For all my self-questioning in my personal life, which has occupied far too many pages on this site for too long, there are also some acute daily joys that I experience over and over. There is not a day when I do not arrive at school with enthusiasm for the day ahead, and there is not a day when my heart does not fill with love for the people with whom I spend almost all my time.
The students at my school make up for any failing I might perceive in the greater society around me and there is absolutely no question that one of the underlying drivers for my on-going passion for the work I do is the relationships I build with the students I teach.
They are open-minded and open-hearted and the sense of acceptance that I feel in their curious presence is life-giving. I’m sure they have no idea of any of this, and neither should they, because it is certainly not their responsibility to be maintaining the esteem of the adults in their lives, but the fact that this occurs as an incidental outcome is a wonder and such an incredible gift.
In the photo above, where I stand alone, but surrounded by the mountain and lake that I love, and the students who I adore – their hands linked in preparation for the next challenge they will tackle with their characteristic alacrity, is a summary of me. This is how I spend my day and this is who I am, and I’m so proud of this guy.
I’m proud to be him, and I’m grateful to have been offered the privilege to do this work. I look at this photo, and I think, it is good.