School is starting. It is a time of anticipation and excitement with a touch of anxiety and trepidation.
One of the best things about school is that there is a new start every year. As an adult, I miss the feeling of a “fresh start” that comes at the beginning of every year. There is a gift that comes with the excitement of starting something. As I meet teachers getting ready for a new year, I am struck by the energy they each emit. It is as though they are lit from within.
That bright light attracts their students to them like a moth to a flame. The light points and directs the learning as a lighthouse directs a seacraft through a difficult reef.
But I have also seen the effects of political pressure, negative press, parental stress, and tireless work. The light we see at this time of year will begin to dim, and flicker, and in some devastating moments, it will be extinguished.
When there is no light, there is nothing to illuminate, direct, and energize learning.
Teachers don’t want their light to fade. But as they worked on behalf of their students, they forgot to fuel themselves. Teachers need to stop and ensure they feed oxygen to their internal flame. For some, oxygen comes from daily exercise. For others, it is an opportunity to learn. And for others, it is time with friends and loved ones. No matter how they fill their energy, they need to ensure it happens regularly and often, or the flame suffocates and eventually burns out.
Another way to think about this is the image of the flight attendant telling you that in an emergency, you need to grab the oxygen mask and put it firmly on your face.
Our teachers need oxygen masks, firmly in place, to maintain the energy and excitement of the new year each school day for the next 36-40 weeks.
The same is true for students. What fills up the students’ oxygen tank to feed the flame inside them? How do we keep students glowing with energy and excitement?