Last month (oh so long ago) I was at the beach, lounging on my chaise and reading not so intellectually stimulating books. I remember, one day thinking of an old Mave Binchy novel where she wrote about the tide washing away the rough spots of daily living. The idea is that the beach is a powerful place with the potential to change lives. I was filled with peace and felt ready to take on the world.
I was thinking of all that when I got up this morning; however, I was really connecting the power of the beach with the power of classroom. Teachers, as the tone setter in their classrooms, have the same potential to change lives....during every one of the 180+ days they spend with their students. We have the potential to make ALL students feel peaceful and confident they can take on the world.
Creating the environment and then setting the tone are pretty important parts of our school year beginning. Peter Dewitt mentioned Rethinking Schools the other day as an important tool in assuring our classrooms are environments where our students feel that peace and sense of potential to take on the world every single day. It's on my weekend reading list to prepare me for week two!
Classrooms are even more powerful than oceans! YIKES!
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