Victories Are So Worth The Effort

It has been a long week. Yes, really long. At times, I felt like my legs were stuck in quick sand, or maybe I was drowning, or was living one of those dreams where I'm back in high school and I'm trying to get to class, but something or someone keeps pulling me away and I can't get to my destination no matter how hard I try. Ever have that dream?

There are other types of dreams though, too. Those dreams that we ponder over in the stillness of the classroom or before we drift off at night. Those dreams we want for our students.

One dream I've had over the last several weeks is to obtain a quality guest speaker for my students.
Over the last several weeks, we have been studying achievement. Recently, we read an article about a local Georgia boy who has raised over $80,000 for charity. He travels the world with his harmonica teaching others how to give back. My students wrote an essay in response to reading the article, and they really connected with this young man. In my mind I thought, "I wonder if I could get him to come speak to our students?" So, I decided to reach out. I e-mailed and called several times with no response. I wanted to give up. "Oh well, I thought. Maybe I'll try someone else." The problem was that no one else seemed to be the right fit in connecting to the kids in my classroom. So, I tried and again. Yes, victory! I got a random call, and I just happened to answer it. After several days of talking back and forth, we have a date set, and this young man will be coming to speak to my students! They can't believe it. To my students, this young man is like a celebrity. His work was in print after all! They are absolutely thrilled.

So, my point is I had to be patient, and I also had to persevere. Sometimes, one call is not enough. Sometimes, we have to knock and knock and knock, but eventually someone will answer, and greatness can happen.

This week has been a long one, but one of the most rewarding I've had as a teacher so far.