Day 283- Man on the Plane

Ok, so I still need to update yesterday's post with all of the amazingness that was the Miller-Sheldon wedding.  I'll get to that.  Not yet.

The moment that made my day today was really quite simple.  I brought a set of papers with me to grade on the plane ride, and I worked on them on the way home.  As we were waiting to leave the plane, the man sitting next to me (who was not Tom) said, "I saw you grading papers.  Are you a teacher?"  When I told him that yes, in fact, I am, he replied with, "Thanks for what you do.  You are in a noble profession, young lady.  We appreciate you."

There's all kinds of negativity floating around these days about public schools and public school teachers.  Everyone wants to complain about the problems that exist, but very few people are actively looking to be a part of the solution.  It was nice to have this little moment with a complete stranger to make me feel validated and important before I'm back in the trenches again tomorrow :).

Thank you, man on the plane, you made my day. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Stories. About Stories.

Image
  One of my greatest passions and joys is matchmaking between people and the books that will get them reading and speak to their souls. Sharing stories, both real and fictional, is transformative. It’s how we connect to one another. It’s how we travel to places we can’t afford. It’s how we learn about people we’ve yet to meet. It’s how we pass on history. It’s how we explore religion. The universe is made up of atoms and molecules, but it is also built on stories. I don’t believe that there are nonreaders; there are just some people who haven’t met the right book yet. I did not invent this idea, but it is a core philosophy I live by in my classroom and in my life on a daily basis. One of my favorite eligible reader stories was a boy who came into my intervention class with low confidence in his skills and in his ability to grow them and put them to work. He told me on the first day that he was not a reader and would never be one, so I might as well not bother. Ah! I love a good cha...
Read more

Day 83- Applesauce

How to become a kid again in three simple steps. Become a teacher.  Spend your break time conversing with students about whether or not Twilight is good reading (it's not, sorry) and explaining how everything they're learning is important (it is) and discussing how Shaun White's private halfpipe is the sweetest thing to ever exist (it might be).    Start taking a lunchbox to work.  Swing it while you walk, embrace it, love it. Pack applesauce in your lunch every day.  An applesauce a day keeps the old age away.  In the initial lunch packing stages of this semester, I always made sure that I had some kind of little sweet treat included to enjoy at the end of lunch.  Over the past few weeks, little applesauce cups have also become a part of the daily routine, and I enjoy this just as much.  I love how it tastes.  I love the little perfectly portioned cup.  I love that eating it makes me feel good and ...
Read more

Day 196- Summery Dinner

Tonight's menu was a good one!  Our weather here has been so nice this week.  We've only been in the mid 80's, and it has actually been cooling down at night.  We have been taking advantage of this by doing some major grilling and enjoying lots of summer foods.  Today's Specials Chipotle Lime Chicken Southwestern Cornbread Salad grilled bananas grilled pineapple We covered all of the food groups in the most delicious and summery of ways (plus, it was pretty healthy too).  If you have never tried grilled bananas, you really should.  They're so good that it's bananas!  Grilled Bananas Recipe 1. Cut off the ends (leaving peel intact). 2. Grill the bananas until the peels turn a darkish brown color and the insides are soft. 3. Gently slice the peel and scoop out the warm gooey goodness. 4. Eat. 5. Sigh with satisfaction. 6. Repeat steps 4-5 many, many times. It's just as easy as that.  The salad was a whole lot more involved, ...
Read more