Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Teaching Learning Moments

First day of class today, and it went GREAT. Great great, as in, felt great.

I love my teacher self. I love feeling myself grow to fill this role that's always bigger than I am. I love making it my own with little outrageous statements that make me -- if no one else -- laugh. But they did laugh. I gotta brag a little here -- I was Hermes. Deft, curious, adaptable ... God it feels good sometimes.

This in direct comparison to coming to work and finding a little note on my desk: "Where are you, by the way? You didn't sign out."

Sign out? Sign out? That's right, I didn't sign out! Technically I was never here this morning (although yes, I was here this morning -- finishing my syllabus with just hours to spare!!!). Fair is fair, I should have indicated yesterday evening on my way out that I would be in late this morning and why. But ... I guess I'm still a girl who values her unannounced freedoms.

With only minutes of planning, I ran a tight ship this morning. Estimated time well. Kept them smiling and sparkly even through the semester run-down. When I was horribly inarticulate, I laughed at myself, and so they knew that was okay to do, too. I remembered most people's names and made it very much my evident deficiency when I forgot.

Which is all to say: things got off to a good start.

It amazes me sometimes how much pleasure I get out of inhabiting the different roles in my life. Sister, teacher, employee, facilitator, designer, house-cleaner, mother hen (ahem), student, friend... Isn't it wonderful that we get to explore all these parts of ourselves that aren't really parts of ourselves until we try them on and see how they make us grow? Mercury! Rising and falling, heating up, cooling down, and all of it ... educational if you're paying attention.

Here's to the joy of paying attention. To learning teaching moments and teaching learning moments and everything -- everything -- in between.

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