Time to go

Well, tomorrow is Day 1 of the 2008-2009 school year.  There is nothing quite like going back to new students, new ideas, new schedules.  I have readied my classroom better than ever before, so that part is done.  It’s organized, labeled, filed, shelved…ready and waiting for learners and learning to begin.

But I am convinced that the greatest impact on learning is not about the books or the lessons or the material being taught…the greatest element in the learning process is a student who truly desires to please himself/herself, who truly wants to achieve at high levels, a student that somehow we have instilled confidence in, a student that somehow, for some reason, truly wants to learn and tries to learn and believes he/she can learn and then voila! learning occurs.

I believe that this takes inspiration.  Students must be inspired to learn.  Not coerced, not cajoled, not bribed.  Inspired.  This is why the personalities of the principals and the teachers are so crucial to the process.  Inspiration must come from someone who can inspire.  Sounds so simple.

May I find a way to inspire my students.  To give them confidence.  To give them the time and the lessons that make it possible for them to learn to their fullest potential.