Cherished Memories
There is no doubt that the impact a teacher has on the life of a student, and eventually on the world, is inestimable.
The impact can be positive or negative and last a lifetime…for better or for worse.
When children come to the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to create a bond and nurture a relationship with each and every child through the choices we make and the experiences we create through the lessons and activities in which we actively engage those children.
Teachers feel this in the heart and soul of their being. It can be quite a burden to carry, but it can also be the most uplifting, invigorating and everlasting joy they can experience in life!
When we decide to become a teacher, our hearts enter into a lifelong commitment…for better or for worse…to love each and every child, unconditionally.
It is not always easy, loving or joyful, and many, MANY days our commitment may begin to wain and our hearts begin to shrink a little and have less capacity for joy, passion and love.
Nonetheless, it is ALWAYS there, just like our founding love that helped create a bond in any relationship or “marriage” of connection to another.
There are always cherished memories that we create with others through our bond and connection that will live in our hearts forever.
So, we need to keep reminders and mementos of them close by to help us come back to our heart center and remember the WHY in what we are doing and the choices were are making.
How do we do create and keep those cherished memories near and dear to our hearts?
Teachers receive nice notes, cards, letters, hand-made gifts, etc. from their students as an expression of their love and appreciation for all that teacher has done/is doing to make a difference in the life of that child.
Sometimes these come from parents or administrators or even colleagues.
Sometimes these don’t come until years later after the child has grown, entered adulthood and the “real world” and finally feel the real and meaningful impact we have had on their lives.
Sometimes we have projects or other work that students do that demonstrate all the learning, growth and joy that students experienced in our classes that affirm our intentions and validate all our hard work and heartfelt efforts.
As a teacher, I kept ALL of these things, and when I was feeling a little low or like I wasn’t making a difference or ???, then, I would pull a few out of the Tupperware container(s) that housed them and just take in all that love and joy of those cherished memories.
One of my favorite things to do was to create a “class album” (like a family photo album) in which students would put any work, project, creation, etc. that they wanted to leave as their most cherished memory of their time in my class.
It helped to create a context for connections and building a classroom community of collaboration and experiences that would nurture relationships and bonds that would live in the hearts of those students forever.
Teaching is so hard now…harder than ever.
However, the human heart still has the same capacity for making heart connections, encouraging collaboration and creating community than it has ever had.
We just need to get out of the fear, the stress, the demands, the monkey-mind, the re-directs in education right to focus more on testing and data/results, and get back to focusing on encouraging and allowing for teachers and their students to pursue those pathways of the heart to making more and more cherished memories in the classroom that will last a lifetime and beyond!
From my heart to all the teacher hearts:
thank you, for all the cherished memories!
Inspirational song:
Thanks for the Memory by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross
Photo credit:
“Family Memory Album” by Sandie Edwards is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Need a spirit "spark" to start your week?
Subscribe to our mailing list and you'll receive a message of support and encouragement right in your inbox every Sunday evening. Sundays don't have to be so scary!
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.