Awwww .... Shucks

I'm feeling very loved right now. My friend Potato Prints came to visit me in my natural environment yesterday, i.e. my classroom, and blogged about it here.

I often say that I see teaching as a radical act (yup, you can read it for yourself right there in my profile) and you might think it means that I teach Kommunism for Kindergartners (I don't) or refuse to lead my students in daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegience (I do ... refuse, that is. It's my right.) What I really mean by that is the essence of my teaching, and I am so pleased that it is so easily apparent to an outsider's eye.

I believe to the core of my being that what teachers really convey to their students is themselves. My students know without any doubt that I love them and will always treat them with dignity and respect, that in my classroom we are a community of individuals who love, accept, take care of, and celebrate each other. We don't get our community out of some canned curriculum: do activities 5, 10, and 12 in the Tribes book and -- VOILA! -- instant community. We build it from day one, and it's hard work, but the results are worth every gray hair.

I'm no pushover either. My students learn that being part of a community requires them to take responsibility. And they do. Early on this year I had a student who, it quickly became apparent, was a compulsive thief. In an amazing demonstration of self-awareness for a 6 year old, he told me, "I take things and I can't help it." He moved in January, but his classmates were helping him, NOT tattling on him and NOT shunning him. And he was coming up to me all on his own and saying, "I took this. I'm really sorry" as he returned some item.

Today I had a student who -- to put it delicately -- smelled like he had not crossed paths with running water in quite some time. Not one child said a word about it. And believe me, he was fragrant!

I can't be any other way in my classroom. It is simply who I am. And year after year, my students respond to it. It is interaction on an entirely human level. And I'd like to think that they will carry some essence of it with them as they grow up. Even if they don't, it's a positive place for them right here and now.

I take great pride in what I do.

Last Saturday I went to the Madison Area Music Awards (MAMAs) -- because my husband was performing there and my school was being awarded a grant to buy new instruments ... So I walked into the pre-show party wearing my very best t-shirt and clogs, and stopped in a panic when I saw all the sparkly evening wear and "little black dresses." I felt like I should check the bottom of my shoes for cow manure -- and this is Madison! Anyway, in an effort to quell my anxiety I had to tell myself, "OK, I may feel like a fish out of water, I have NO schmoozing skills, but I'll bet 99.9% of the people in this room would feel the same way if they walked into a room full of 5 and 6 year olds. And I know how to work a room full of 5 and 6 year olds!" And after throwing a little tantrum at my husband, I had a glass of wine and it was all good.

Anyway ... I'm rambling.