Embracing my favorite teachers

I am not going to lie, it's weird for me to blog on a Monday night, but today has been somewhat unexpectedly challenging. As a lover of learning all things, I have certain teachers who are definitely my favorites. Tonight, two of the teachers who mean the most to me are hurting from their own personal struggles, and I really want to let them know, as privately as I can, what they mean to me and to let them know they are in my heart.

Four years ago, I was struggling to find my true direction as a teacher. I mean, I was doing okay, but as a lover of all learning, my classes tended to be a little disconnected.  I joined the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project because I figured giving up four weeks in the summer to learn about teaching writing-that could be nothing but a party. It was! That is not sarcasm! (Neither is that-I am being totally serious.)  I remember the first few days, surrounded by these amazing teachers thinking, "What am I even doing here?"  To top it off, they were writers-like not just writing teachers-I mean authentically awesome writer people. And they wanted me to be one. I was not a writer. I am a very good reader, I can edit with the best of them (my proofreading is not awesome), but I was not a writer.  One of our fearless leaders let us know we had another fearless leader who had been injured in a bike accident, and he would be joining us in a few days. He was going to be my peer response leader. I was going to have to read this man my writing. My actual writing that I wrote from my heart and my soul and isn't very good and I was having a panic attack. This run-on sentence was kind of what my brain was doing. And then I met him. And he calmed me down. He listened to me without judging me. He made me say that I was a writer. He taught his demo lesson and moved me to tears as I wrote, as a real writer, for the first time in my life. He taught me that every single human being is a writer, and in order to be more humane, we must write together, listen to each other, and write again. I know that because of his mentorship, I became a much better teacher-but I know that I also became a little bit more human. I love you friend!

Last year, in my small learning team, we got a new teammate. She was co-teaching with one of my besties. I was game-I added her to the e-mail distribution and got ready. I had heard so many amazing things about this woman, but I wasn't sure what to expect. I can be a lot to handle in a meeting. I truly believe in my soul this woman joined our team for a reason. It was a challenging year for our little team as we strove every second to do what we knew was right for our students. This woman taught me about grace and voice and helped me understand the value of each member of my team.  When I had a really bad day, she hugged me and supported me (even if I didn't really deserve it).  She gave me the most honest feedback of my life, "You are not what everyone thinks you are-and that's a good thing." She made me laugh. She took us to the side of the road to cut wildflowers. She taught be about Jimmy John's "unwhich." She made me laugh and took amazing notes. This woman takes care of people. As her struggles have become more public, I have seen so many people reach out to her. She deserves every ounce of love. Her heart has moved every single person she has ever worked with-and I am privileged to be one. I will love this woman forever. She is one of my favorite teachers. 

If you read this blog, I hope you will think about not only your favorite official teachers, but the people in your life who have taught you about grace and forgiveness and love and life. If you know the people I'm writing about, or not, I would love it if in your thoughts and prayers you send a little love their way. I am humbled and sending all my love to two of my favorite teachers tonight. Thank you for all the gifts you gave that I didn't deserve and can never be thankful enough for. I love you!