I love my job. There is never a dull moment in an elementary school. Whether it be the need for yet another ice pack, the mystery of a missing shoe, separation anxiety, a bloody nose or a stuck zipper… the days are certainly never dull.

Last week, a little one told me she was going to take something to “the lost and fountain.” Another skipped her way back to her desk with an imagined rope and a wide grin, no audience intended. And still another caught me ‘running’ in the hall and asked, “what’s the hurry?” Good question. As I was reading with a group of grade three students the other day, one of them said, “Let’s make a deal.” She proceeded to say that if the group made ‘no mistakes’ – and it didn’t count as a mistake if they helped each other – they could use the white boards and I would challenge them with difficult words. “Deal.” A teacher’s dream, actually.

When I consider what I learned in university, nothing could have prepared me for those unanticipated moments. And to be honest, it is those moments that give flavour to my day.

Yes, I do love my job.

Many years ago I went to the Body Worlds exhibit. You know the one: human bodies on display preserved through a process called plastination. The overwhelming feeling I had visiting this exhibit was one of awe.

How is it that we function each and every day? Our bodies are a miraculous mass of cells working together seemingly inexplicably. It struck me as nothing short of extraordinary that we function everyday as we do given the complexity of our bodies and brains.

I recently read the book My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr. Taylor, a brain scientist, experienced a massive stroke in 1996. In the book she chronicles her experience including the stroke itself and her eight-year recovery. She was forced to relearn all of the things she had once learned as a toddler and young child.

Again I was struck with a sense of awe.

The human body’s capability to learn, relearn, adapt to our environment, process external stimuli, understand our spacial world, generate meaning from a string of symbols… all seem incredible feats. These capabilities exist in most of us, most of the time, without our even thinking about them.

I marvel at the learning that goes on each day with our students. Given the complexity of the human brain it is no surprise that we have students who find learning difficult. It can be a puzzle to determine precisely what the difficulty might be. We may never fully understand the science behind their learning difficulties, but we can certainly uncover strategies to help all students learn.

I cannot even begin to imagine all that is at work right now in my brain as I type these words!

This week, along with many of you, I heard David Wells speak. He made me laugh and he made me cry. His physical comedy, timing and poignancy struck a chord.

“Don’t miss the point.”

What is it in your life that you don’t want to miss?

Your children or grandchildren as they discover and explore their world? An unfulfilled dream? The stories told and retold by your parents or grandparents? The honesty of our students? Relationships with siblings, fondly considered friends? The creative energy of colleagues? The friendships of those who inspire, encourage or make you laugh? The thrilling possibilities of a new work day? The quiet moments with the one you love most?

Whatever it is, don’t miss the point.

Live today.

Do you find joy in your job? Do you go home eager to share stories about your day? Can you identify others on staff who enjoy their jobs?

We spend most of our waking hours at work. Studies have shown that those people deemed happiest in our society are those who find purpose in their work.

I would expect that most of our students could identify the staff members who enjoy their jobs. They know whether or not we want to be at work each day. They know whether or not we find happiness in what we do. They know too, if we are stressed or frustrated.

No matter where we work, we will face difficult situations. That we cannot avoid. Sometimes we deal with difficult individuals. Sometimes we do not agree with the decisions that are made. Sometimes we feel like we are spinning our wheels.

Yet what we do each day within a school, whatever our job, is important. We are all pieces to a puzzle, not complete without each other. As we come together each day, why not make the overall picture a joyful one?

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” Henri Nouwen

Rewind to my first year of teaching. Grade one. I’m hanging my students’ artwork. As a newbie teacher I’d happily ‘borrowed’ the idea from my colleagues. Happily that is, until I am stapling the so-called artwork to the bulletin board. “This isn’t art,” I hear myself saying. All 24 are precisely the same. Okay, perhaps there is some variation distinguishable at close inspection. Virtually though, 24 carbon copies.

From that moment on, I vow not to lead my students through crafts: the copying of steps, ultimately creating the same product. I vow to teach my students art: to draw out their creativity and individuality, to introduce skills and techniques, to teach them to reflect, create, appreciate and interpret visual symbols.

Over the years, art became one of my favourite subjects to teach. I challenged myself to find ways to teach colour, line, texture, shape, design, proportion – still allowing my students to express themselves, valuing their inventiveness to create a product all their own.

Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Let’s not squelch the artist within our students sooner than seems to happen naturally with age! Ensure that your students can identify their own work from the bulletin board because their choices within their composition are deliberate and purposeful. Capitalize on a child’s fearlessness, ingenuity and self-confidence while it still exists. Allow the instinct of a child to create, discover and explore to infiltrate your art lessons.

If you want 24 carbon copies, use the photocopier.

I was lucky enough to receive some gifts this Christmas. Some very thoughtful gifts, in fact. My favourite though was from one of my brothers. He donated, on behalf of our family, to a unicef project entitled K.I.N.D (Kids In Need of Desks).

I don’t know about you but I take our desks for granted each day. I’m sure most of our students do as well. Our desks have never been a cause for celebration or driven our students to burst into song. Besides the odd time I’ve ordered them, I have never really given them much thought. Never considered not being able to afford desks for our school. Never really thought about the alternative: sitting on a cement floor all day, every day. And then I watched the video and read the article at the following link:

http://www.unicefusa.org/news/news-from-the-field/kids-in-need-of-desks-malawi.html

Brother, thank you for reminding me how fortunate we are to live in Canada… how fortunate we are to have the resources we need in school each day… how fortunate we are to be able to meet not only our spiritual and academic needs but our basic physical needs as well.

According to the article, “four out of five students in Malawi are still without desks, and in all of sub-Saharan Africa there are 45 million children who are unable to go to school.”

Ultimately, my brother’s gift was a reminder: yes, I’d say we have it pretty good here.

I marvel at the spunk and energy of my 89 year old grandmother. She doesn’t look 89 years old. She doesn’t act 89 years old. Her positive attitude and life of hard work are certainly cause for pause. I wonder… What keeps her so young? What keeps her from complaining about her aches and pains?

She leads by example and lives in the moment. She is a well-read woman. She is quietly annoyed by others who complain about their lives. She has sympathy and empathy for those in need. She gives freely. She loves generously. She is the matriarch of our family. She has great wealth of spirit.

Whether she is watching the Oilers, listening to her beloved Daniel O’Donnell or retelling her favourite stories, she certainly has spunk.

Teachers come in many forms: mine takes the form of my 89 year old grandmother. I am one lucky student.

 

At the beginning of December, I heard Robin Sharma speak. One of his questions to us was this: What can you do to make 2012 the best year yet?

Most of us probably consider this question every year about this time. We generate a list of good intentions. We make grand plans for the coming year. And yet, if you’re like me, mid-January rolls around and I have forgotten some of those intentions and the grand plans are just that, plans. Life, fatigue and old habits get in the way of the changes we intend to make.

So the questions begs, how do we move from intention to action? For myself, when my intentions come to fruition it is because I have set daily manageable goals that I literally check off when I achieve them. I need a number to strive for or a checklist to complete. Whether it be increased exercise, healthy eating, staying in better touch with friends, paying down debt, weight loss or a weekly game night with family, we must believe that our goal is possible to achieve.

L. Ron Hubbard once said, “Dreams, goals, ambitions – these are the stuff man uses for fuel.”

Fire yourself up for the new year… begin with the end in mind… turn those intentions into action… put first things first… make 2012 your best year yet!

 

Many years ago as my niece was about to unwrap her gift, someone asked her what she thought it was. Her matter-of-fact response: “I always know it’s a book from Auntie Karen!” And she’s right, I suppose. When I consider all the shopping I’ve done during this Christmas season, I have to admit, most of my shopping was done (SPOILER ALERT) at a bookstore.

One of my favourite parts of the holiday break is curling up on the couch, with the fireplace on, cracking open a new book: nowhere to go except the depths of the pages within my hands. And nothing beats sharing a new book with a child. The quiet moment on the couch amid the mess of Christmas morning. The wide-eyed wonderment as you get to the end of the book and the immediate, “Read it again!” at its conclusion.

Fifth grade teacher Rafe Esquith has said: “This I believe: If young people develop a love of reading, they will have better lives.” Sean Covey has said, “I believe that the simple act of a parent reading to his or her child each day for fifteen minutes could change the world!”

Reading opens our minds to endless possibilities. Reading provides connection to others in our world. Reading is an escape. Reading empowers. Reading enlightens, delights and inspires.

Reading changes lives.

Get thee to a bookstore: give a book this Christmas.

 

This week it became clear just how much my faith is a part of me. I cannot separate my beliefs from my ‘being’ as a family member, teacher, friend or citizen. It is simply who I am. When I think, speak or act, my faith is my foundation.

Over 15 years ago, I spent a brief two months teaching in a public school district. Yet I always knew I wanted to teach within a Catholic school. I simply cannot imagine celebrating this time of year without faith as a foundation. I cannot imagine helping our students deal with the death of their mother or the injustices against them without prayer, without references to God. I cannot imagine celebrating the mysteries of life without my belief in their creation.

I am comforted by the knowledge that there is something bigger than myself, something unexplainable, yet something that connects me with my dad and grandparents gone before me. My faith provides my hope and strength. I cannot set it aside.

I am who I am.