HOPEFUL

Some people say hope is a waste of energy,

hope kills the present moment.

I do not.

Hope brings people together.

Hope lends a light when the world seems dark.

Hope is the moments when you know that what you are doing is worthwhile,

even when the chips are down.

When you turn to the new friend and say, “we can do this”.

I don’t know why I listen to some people - because I am hopeful!

We started Storyline training last night. Sitting with new friends constructing our learning by, creating a restaurant, figuring things out. I never met some of them, but they are like me. Searching to find a place in education where the child is in the center. Wondering how things got so far away from the joy of learning. I am hopeful, because there are so many people trying to make a difference!

The intensity of the learning, not about square root or parabola, was present last night. We learned about how things fit in our tiny little box of a world. Our hands were crafting tables and chairs, bathrooms, kitchens. Our wall were multi-colored. Our hearts, filled with possibility and hope, searching for a way that we can teach children. Creating conversation, negotiating differences, measuring, counting, drafting and re-drafting. When we were finished last night, we weren’t really finished either, we had actually just begun.

And I am eternally optimistic as I get ready to walk down the hill today, to the Farmhouse, to greet my friends, new and old as we continue to explore Storyline. I am hopeful that we have pre-service teachers and retired teachers, non-profit pre-schools for homeless children and virtual learning, classroom teachers and museum docents; all curious, all hopeful that we can create a better way, that we can be better teachers, that we can provide the joy and wonder of learning in spaces that are sometimes dull, in a world that sometimes forgets that kids are kids!

I am hopeful that I crossed the threshold to a world that does not allow the heaviness to darken the door of possibility. I am hopeful because in crossing the threshold I have met amazing people who take the chance. And I am thankful for all the people I know who show up every day - taking the chance to have their hearts broken when they show up at schools - and they show up every day - for the kids!

Wandering through something new last night, at Storyline, I forgot about the people who said, “maybe next year when you are more established”, or “the price was better somewhere else”. Last night as I worked with strangers, and I knew that regardless of what happens today, my life is full, blessed, filled with love and inspiration. Simple things, like learning to build an environment where children can explore, just like we do, to learn set me free.

So, I am hopeful.