I Can See Clearly Now

I do not get angry very easily. Frustrated, yes. Anxious, of course. Irritated, sometimes. But it takes a lot to get me to the point of actually being angry. Well last Friday I finally made it to destination angry.  It didn't help that I'd been sick all week and hadn't had a moment to rest and feel better. By Friday morning I desperately needed rest. And clarity.

I love my job. I love the things I am able to do in a day. I love the people I interact with. I feel blessed in what I do. Sometimes, though, I feel that education in our country is thwarted by outside interests and parties who really don't understand the inner workings of what education is. It's more than just teaching concepts and testing on them. To educate fully and appropriately takes a personal and vested interest in who is being educated.  My FAVORITE part of my job is that personal interest. Each time I am able to show children that I CARE about them, it makes it easier for me to teach them. That in turn makes learning a positive and lasting  process rather than a test score.  Sometimes I feel we are taking away all the personal aspects of teaching and replacing it with paperwork and efficiency. Ugh.

Anyway, this, among other issues was all hitting me hard. Things that I am usually able to work past started getting to me. I started feeling unappreciated and tired. I felt like I was working myself into the ground for a cause that no one else seemed to be worried about. My anger was situational, but felt real. I started hunting for someone to lay my frustrations on. Blessedly, no one was in my path.

The moment of clarity came quite literally through a student on an angel's errand. While correcting papers I came across the spelling sentences this child had written with the spelling words underlined. They looked like this:

6. God made you.

7. He is number one.

Talk about perspective being restored. Those two sentences restored me and reminded me what I am really doing in my job. I am honored to be among angels every day. TO receive hugs and words of wisdom from them. TO watch them grow and develop. TO assist in their learning. TO care for them and be a part of building their self esteem and confidence. I realized what was really important. And I was grateful.