“To find joy in work is to find the fountain of youth.” –Pearl S. Buck

Going back to school has always been exciting for me as a student and as a teacher.  I get to start over the way the rest of the world does on New Year’s Day.  I make resolutions and have new plans to complement my tried and true ones.  Each year I reflect on my past work, like on New Year’s Eve, and decide how I can be better than the year before.

Being a teacher is not easy.  It is a daunting task set before me each day of each school year.  I am charged with teaching students what they “need to know” while nurturing their sense of wonder. I want to encourage them to love learning while still having to “grade” their best efforts.

I want my students to rejoice in their successes and learn from their mistakes.  I want them to understand that perfection is a futile goal for it is in the mistakes where the learning takes place. Most of all I want each and every one of my students to know that they are not their test scores.  They are each unique with their own special voice and ideas that will make a mark on this world some day.