Work today was hard, because the lesson that was supposed to be observed didn’t happen until quite a bit later than I had thought, and the students were trying to be good for me, and stayed silent. Totally silent. Even though we’ve been working on speaking out in class, participating in discussions, and brainstorming out loud for a whole year. They reverted to the “silence = obedience” philosophy. And I was sad, because it took some coaxing to get a reaction out of them. I saw their eyes dance with laughter, but they kept it all in because they wanted to show the best of their teacher, see how obedient we are.
My heart ached because I have to farewell them soon. I was talking with a colleague about leaving, because she’s leaving at the end of next week, having found an administrative job, and we shared about how we feel on the threshold of this new stage in life. It’s an amazing, but terrifying thing.
Tomorrow morning I go to the new place to check out one of the courses I’ll be teaching next year. I am at once excited and frantic about it. There’s a lot to do this weekend, but I’ll feel much more relaxed on Sunday.
And why not? It’s God’s day. I’m grinning broadly in case you didn’t figure it out.
