Reflections on year 1
Multiplication, subtraction
Take action when the time is now
The future could be bright
If only you know how.
Care for your fellows
Don't be too mellow or trouble brews
Every word and deed
To the unpredictable shall lead.
Don't hesitate to point the finger
And don't linger too long on the past
What you learned yesterday
Can only send you the right way.
Addition, division
The best decision works for all
Just strive to learn
Teach them to yearn.
As art and science
Take compliance only so far
Do what rests in your heart
There will be a second start.
What you don't know can hurt
you.
What you should know can save you.
Peel back the layers of each child
Get into their head
Figure out how to manage a million thoughts
And get caught up in the game
What you learn can inspire you.
What you learn can surprise you.
Each is a different challenge
Yet each is the same
An individual with needs, cares, and concerns
At times fragile and unbreakable
What you teach may prepare them.
What they teach can prepare you.
1 or 96
1 in a 1,000,000
50/50
96 to 1
1 for 96
97.
1.
"Do you have a
Valentine?"
At what point do you stop
At what point do you tell yourself
At that instant do you choose
To ignore
To assert
To redirect
To answer
To remove
To sigh
To give up
To scold
To sulk
To teach
Every day I tried to start anew
Each hour a new hope
For every setback there could be a gain
If only it felt like that were true.
You want for them to be their best
I want them to be the same
Only concern that remains is do they?
It's so much easier to be like the rest.
You set your expectations high
I'll prepare myself to help you reach your dreams
If we believe we can work together-
Not just come in and try.
This can work well, no doubt in my mind
Let's get to the point and find a way
I am here to help each one of you
I'd rather not see a one left behind.
Let's start anew
Each hour of our day
A setback is only a mistake
A chance to see that our purpose is true.
I do miss you all
I wish I could be there
I just want to say hi
every day.
A man who had a firm grip on
the reality of what worked and what did not
caught me in my idealism. Two opposites we were,
certainly a mismatch from the start.
But in the end I wouldn't have had it any other way. It worked,
and if there was one reason to keep trying new ideas
to succeed it was to continue the learning process
that instilled a sense of reality within my actions.
To his effort I will always be grateful.
Yes, there actually were things
I
Liked about teaching 6th graders
There were many great kids
Ones who were smart
Ones who were kind
Ones who were fun to talk with
Ones who really sympathized
Ones who liked to laugh
(at the OK stuff of course)
Ones who did their work
Ones who worked to understand
Ones who were mature beyond their age
Ones who thanked me for my work
Ones who stood up for their best interests
(the appropriate interests of course)
Ones who say hi when they see you on the street
Ones who came by just to chat
Ones who cared about their present
Ones who cared about their future
Ones who will be hard to forget
Ones whose parents were understanding
Ones who made the classroom a great place to be
Ones who endured my crazy projects
Ones who were honest
Ones who grew into someone better
Maybe because of me
But hopefully because they wanted to
Teaching is life
stuck in a small room
to learn to live outside it
Students are electrons
charged and ready
to move to the next level
Administrators are bees
buzzing around and landing
when there's something to sting
Words are free
to provide new ideas and
help kids grow up
Math is not life
it's how you use it, though,
that defines it
I am a piece
to a greater puzzle
that I can't fit into
All work is by J. Nicolosi, 9/17/2004