Teachers

Teacher.

It seems to me that this is a word that holds an energy, a resonance, a set of emotions that is very powerful for people all over the world. All of us, no matter where we live on Mother Earth have been students and by extension, we have all had teachers.

Today I think about and ponder a specific kind of teacher: the classroom teacher. For all of us who have learned inside the four walls of a classroom, we have (hopefully) memories of teachers who touched our lives, believed in us, stood by us when other teachers did not, challenged us intellectually and above all inspired us to be lifelong learners. They created activities that were motivating, read us great literature, took us on trips that we might otherwise have never experienced and believed in the medicine that is laughter. Those are the kinds of teachers I think about today.

But there is more.

Do you remember the one teacher (or more if you were very fortunate) who not only embodied all of the above, but seemed to understand you as a spiritual person, too? The teacher who had "that something" in her eyes that conveyed that you were special, unique, with your own set of needs that may differ from those around you? The teacher who was willing to bend, flex and rethink decisions, who sometimes challenged the rules in order to best meet the needs of kids? The one who understood that there is so much more to school than the four R's, and in fact might have argued that the real curriculum lay in his own character and that of his students? The teacher who seemed to understand the spiritual gravity of his or her job? Those are the teachers who are the walking guardians of our children. Having been a teacher myself, I am not sure if my students felt I gave them that experience or not. That is for them to decide. What I do know is that there is something sacred about being given the responsibility of holding the spirits of twenty children in your hands.

It's huge!

When I put my children on the school bus and wave goodbye, I hope and pray that the person on the other end receives them with love, joy and kindness. I hope that the teachers of my girls see the essence of their spirits and celebrate who they are, foibles and all. THAT is a teacher, in my opinion. Most anyone can teach the nuts and bolts of subject matter. But I know for sure that information is taken in, internalized, and processed far more effectively if the learning environment is one of acceptance, peace, co-operation, and structure with give. Creativity, ideation and invention flow most freely when teachers move off to the side and allow children to find their own path, their own way of communicating, their own way of being with the subject matter. This is not always easy, as teachers have curriculum that must be taught, different learning styles to consider, a wide spectrum of abilities for which to plan, and children who are happier than others to be there. There are parental requests, administration demands, and of course, these mere mortals might well have their own families, households, and hobbies too!!

But there is more.

I realize that this triad of home, school, student only works if each party is willing to uphold her side of the "relationship shape". And as a parent that includes me! It is my right to speak up when I don't agree with something happening in the classroom, but I must also speak up when I am in gratitude for things that are making a positive difference in the lives of my children. Teachers need this kind of feedback and we parents are in a wonderful position to give it. Parents expect a lot of teachers (myself included), and that is fine, but I also believe that we need to expect a lot of ourselves, too. We need to be involved in the school lives of our children, we need to ask questions, support projects, attend field trips and information nights. We can hopefully volunteer in a way that resonates. We need to show up!

So today, I am in deep gratitude for all of those teachers who consciously plan for their students, who speak and act with discernment, who understand that children make mistakes, that they learn best through kindness and discipline. I honour all teachers who have been up at night with a sick child and still report for duty with a smile on their faces and patience in their hearts. I send love to those teachers who are struggling, who may not be teaching the grade they really wanted, or who are dealing with a child who is proving to need a lot more of everything than the others. I honour you, I salute you, and I send you light.

And I promise to do my part, too!



With love and gratitude,

Christine
xo

Honouring Sadness, Truth and Father Time

I am often encouraging parents and caregivers to honour sadness in their children, and today I take my own medicine and honour my own sadness. As I finished typing the last word of today's thought about time going by quickly, I was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome with soul wrenching sadness. And while I know that time stops for no one, I don't like this today. Today I want time to stand still, I want my children to stay these ages for a while longer. I ache at the notion of them growing up today. I know, I know....independence, maturation, opening of wings and letting go are all healthy parts of a child's spiritual experience. I also realize that these are all healthy parts of my own spiritual growth as a mother, too. But today I don't like it. I don't want to pretend that I feel okay about this today!

Today I want to gather up my daughters, smother them with kisses and love and selfishly keep them here where I can have them to myself. I want to hide them from Father Time.

When they are in school in the Fall, I wonder what I will do with myself. For ten years, I have had the ultimate privilege of staying at home with them full time. I am eternally grateful for a husband who has honoured this choice, honoured the investment of time into our children and has seen it as the full time blessing it has been. He has always said that it has been easy for him to go to work every day knowing that the girls were at home with me. I wouldn't change a thing, not one moment of the last ten years, and some of those moments were not easy. I realize that part of my sadness is for myself, not them. I sometimes feel like a leaf wafting around in the breeze, unsure of which branch I belong to. Where will this leaf anchor itself in the Fall? I thought I would return to teaching, but after a rather truth testing experience two weeks ago, I realize that this profession, while noble and honourable, is no longer my truth. It could have been so easy: I was being offered the opportunity of a part time teaching assignment in a school five minutes from my house in a school Board that is hardly hiring right now. I would have been teaching a subject I could teach with my eyes closed and working with children, among my most favourite humans! Benefits, pension, excellent salary, vacation that would be the same as my children's. WHY is this not enough? I tried to convince myself that this would be a good idea, that I would be happy...but I knew deep in my soul that this was not true. The more I stand in my truth, the harder it is to hide from it. There it is: the double edged sword of walking my most authentic path.

So as I let the sadness, the uncertainty, and the anxiety wash through me, I shake it all down to what seems to be a recurring lesson: trust. Spirit encourages me to trust myself, trust that I DO know what is best for me and that when I trust, the Universe will pave the way for all that is in my highest and greatest good. I must also trust time. I trust that my children are becoming who they are in the time they have chosen, and that the biggest gift I can give them is to stay out of their way, just off to the side with what they need to continue on. Honouring their truth is also honouring that they are growing up, changing, morphing into the wonderful beings that they are.

Aahhh...suddenly I feel a bit better. The writing helps with finding the truth, the wisdom, the teaching and learning that gets brought to my life each day. Part of my human experience on Mother Earth is fulfilling my soul's deepest desires. And while I am not exactly sure what that will be, I trust that walking an honest path will help reveal all I am to know.

So, it's okay, Father Time...I know you tick on and with it, I will tick on, too, commiting myself to enjoying each moment life brings and trusting that all is well....in all ways!


Love Christine
xo