May There Be Peace Within Your Classroom
Guest post by Curt Rees.
The first day of the school year is here across the country, and my experience with school has been that the environment you establish at the beginning of the year, good or bad, is most likely to carry through during the rest of the year. With this in mind, I ask you to reflect on the following quote from Mother Theresa.
“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”
In this age of intense negative scrutiny of public education, accountability, progress monitoring, infinite assessment, shrinking budgets/salaries/jobs, don’t forget that educators are still blessed to be working with children. Foremost, these little human beings need love, laughter, patience, kindness, and understanding.
May today there be peace within. Today is the only day you truly control. Be there in mind and body for your students, their families, and your colleagues.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. Don’t forget why you chose to be an educator and work with children and young adults.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. Don’t ever give up on yourself, your colleagues, and your students. As you hold them up in words and actions, they will do the same for you.
May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. You know where your strengths are as a teacher. Play to those strengths and allow them to fully benefit your students.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are. In your own eyes you will never be perfect, but you are faultless in the eyes of your students.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. Feel confident and strong in who you are, and use that audacity to make a lasting memory. Kids don’t remember the day they learned long division, but they do remember the day their teacher cried when reading Where the Red Fern Grows.
It is there for each and every one of us. We all have a purpose and we all have a chance to make a difference every day.
Image Credit: World Bank Photo Collection of Flickr.
