This morning, a student teacher said he was tired (waking up so early again). This is not tired, I told him. “We’re not tired yet.”
The year is ahead of us. We’re happy to see each other. As many hugs as at a family reunion. There are possibilities at this time of year. We’ve just begun.
What proved impossible in the past may be possible. There are reasons to see openings. Two meetings to plan for implementation to bring back strength to a vision that had become diluted. We started actual planning to bring a summer idea into practice in the classroom. Inspired by The Writing Assignment that Changes Lives, four of us are developing a plan for Advisory where we have freedom to allow students to find joy and personal purpose in writing.
And so, I continue to say “I believe” 3x every morning. I may go further, like the Queen in Alice in Wonderland:
“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
Alice in Wonderland.
I think carefully about how to proceed in this delicate time when we might gain footing for some good plans. I re-read old favorites that give me clarity: When Change is Out of Control, by Margaret Wheatley
Maybe catching a wave.