#SOL20 In My Teaching Heart

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. 



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