I AM A TEACHER. We ARE teachers. We’re not daycare workers. We’re not taking care of days. We’re taking care of children. We will define ourselves.
I’d rather be wrong while doing the right thing rather than wrong for not doing anything at all.
I am a Head Start child still at heart.
We need to reframe our way of thinking. We shouldn't be thinking will Johnny be ready for Kindergarten. Instead we should be asking will his new school be ready for him?
There are so many small moments, or as I call them, little things, that have inspired and continue to inspire me as a teacher. I draw so much inspiration from the many inquisitive and creative minds as well as the infinite amount of questions posed by children. They ask us questions we do not have the answers to. Children remind me how each and every single day is filled with so much to discover about the world and ultimately about ourselves. A butterfly or an ant becomes a marvelous creature that we wonder in awe at or even pretend to be by flying or crawling together. Children make me dig deep and model how to treat and take care of one another, our environment, and ourselves. Children teach me what taking care of each other looks like and what sticking together like peanut butter and jelly is all about, especially during the most challenging of times. We breathe together, we talk and work out problems together, and we move together. In the midst of it all, we meet one another where we are and support one another to where we are going. Each and every day I am filled and inspired by our children. For that, my heart and my brain are full with love and memories.
The ideas of beawolf ain’t gonna go nowhere.” <—My first complete sentence to an MLA style paper about Beowulf. My English teachers in high school changed and edited my trajectory with my writing and with . . . my life. Writing is a process like life. We’re all in a process of becoming. Remember that. Make mistakes and keep your voice. And, take the guidance along the way.
