In my teaching heart, there are students.
Present students, who I see on Google Meet and Flipgrid I remember their smiles each morning and the sound of their laughter. Past students, at all ages and stages of life- a new middle schooler, a high school senior, a college freshman, a grown-up. I remember their faces as children and how fast our time together went. My future students are in my teaching heart too as I look for ways to be better so they can become who they're meant to be. In my teaching heart, there are books. Books full of beautiful words, Words that challenge you, change you, charge you Words that make you laugh from the silliness Words that make you cry from the pain you've known You're not alone, the book reassures you. Books fill my classroom- real and virtual. Books and words fill my teaching heart. In my teaching heart, there are mentors, Fellow teachers, leaders, educators who show me new ideas and ways through when I've felt all roads are blocked. Their kindness, passion, expertise and advice help me to keep believing in the power of a teacher to affect eternity. In my teaching heart, there are tools. Markers, chart paper, chrome books, apps, Stickers and Screencastify Pencils and Padlet Folders and Flipgrid Binders and Buncee Real life objects and digital tools Help me show my students geometry, poetry, flexibility and resilience. In my teaching heart, there is hope. There is faith. In my teaching heart, there is love. A teaching heart must always begin with love. My teaching heart has broken so many times but it has always healed, always mended itself together again. A teaching heart, I believe, always finds a way. Whether it crouches in the corner, during lockdown drills, Or wears a mask, Or connects with students virtually, A teaching heart makes the impossible possible for the ones who need it so very much. Tools, teachers, books, students, These are what fill my teaching heart.
6 Comments
5/26/2020 01:59:57 pm
This stanza really moved me:
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5/26/2020 04:29:39 pm
Kathleen, your post provides a clear demonstration of the breadth, depth and generous inclination of a teacher's heart. It also highlights the resilience of that heart. Such admirable qualities. We remain curious learners...
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I love this poem Kathleen. It resonates with me on so many levels. My teaching heart has been broken many times as well, but is always mended because we do that. We mend and we are the menders. My heart is full right now as we are drawing nearer to the end of another school year, especially one as “different” as this one has been. As you said, we will find a way. A teaching heart always does. Thank you for your beautiful poem.
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6/2/2020 02:59:20 am
"A teaching heart,
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AuthorKathleen Neagle Sokolowski Archives
February 2024
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