It was July, 2000, and I was sitting by the side of the pool, watching my Summer school students laugh the way through their swimming lessons. I was struck mid-splash with the proverbial bolt of lightning inspiration to return to college. Two weeks later I was enrolled full-time in the the Art program at Southern Oregon University.
I never would have fathomed that it would be eleven years later and I would not be back in a classroom.
Yet.
I'm ready and excited for now.
I miss my work with the classroom-challenged warriors of academia. I have always been inspired by the perseverance these students employ, showing up day after day to a place that is frustrating at best, confounding and defeating at worst.
I am a proud advocate for the brilliance in all of us - it isn't always found on paper or in the results of a pop quiz. It is the teachers I worked with in Oregon who taught me how to be flexible and responsive to the needs of students around me. They showed me that being present, being truly with each student was the key to success. Teachers are true heroes and I miss my work with them, learning from them and laughing with them at the end of a well-earned good day, as much as I miss the work with students.
I am so looking forward to getting back into it all, ready for all the new lessons awaiting us...
