Sometimes I imagine teachers are trees,
as we add new growth rings each year.
Of course, no year is the same,
our “rings” not uniform.
I imagine the bigger rings are our tougher years,
years we have absorbed more carbon
to release more oxygen into our kids’ atmospheres,
so they may breathe.
Some years we seem to stand alone.
Other years we brush branches.
Some years we endure drought.
Others we drink deeply the rains.
Even fires we survive.
We survive. We thrive.
So our kids may breathe.
To all my friends in the forest,
I am honored to grow among you.
This began as a tweet. I sent it out into the Twitterverse Saturday morning, hoping it would find my fellow teachers as we all come to add a new ring this year. Fortunately, it found many, and seemingly, it resonated with many, too, as several chimed in, identifying with the metaphor, some calling it “poetry.” So, this morning, I tried to make it look a little more “poetic” in form. And then, just as I am writing this I received notification that one of my followers on Twitter turned it into a poster.
We live. We learn. We suffer. We thrive. We survive. We climb. We fall. We bend. We break. We grow again. And again. We grow.
And it is this very idea that I will carry into the classroom today as I get the kids to think more deeply about their own trees, their own rings as they search themselves for ideas for our “This Is Me” project. I will ask them to do their own cross-sections today, identifying, examining, and sharing their own “growth rings.”
Trees and humans, not so different we. All enduring, surviving, and growing in the same forest. Wish we could all see that a little better at times. We are the forest.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…reconnecting with Smiles and Frowns.
…revisiting our “This Is Me” project (put on hold for testing)
…considering, identifying, examining, and publishing our growth rings.
…reflecting in our Journey Journals.
…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.
Happy Monday, all. May your trees thrive today.
Do. Reflect. Do Better.