There’s a buzz. More than a noise. Not music, exactly. But not exactly not music. It’s somewhere in between.

It’s got lift, maybe lilt. It moves in and among, out and forth. It’s as heavy as feet, and it’s as light as wings. It’s certainly uncertain. It’s indistinctly distinct. You can hear it all at once or not at all.

But it’s there. You know when it comes, but you cannot make it so by will; you can only invite it. It comes on its own, in its own way. But when it comes, it resonates, reverberates, and captivates. It is the sound of students engaged. It’s beautiful. It’s inspiring. It’s magic.

Well, not magic exactly, but magic-like for it catches, it transfixes, it enchants. But it you cannot catch. It is the catcher.

Yesterday, I found myself caught so. I was held by the buzz of my kids as they collaborated: sharing, seeking, questioning, wondering.

And where it was, there in those moments, I was made part of something bigger than I, and now as I try to catch it for you, my attempts, sadly, will not do.

I guess you, too, have been caught by such moments, indelibly etched but impossibly elusive–moments that can never be bigger than what they were, that can never be shared in the way they were lived. But we try, don’t we? We try in pictures. We try in words–as I do now, but it’s not the same, never the same.

There where it is, I try to be part of the sound; I try to touch the rainbow’s end; I try to capture the faerie folk in my midst, but my tries only make them vanish, and the magic becomes more magic, for it I can never truly touch. But still I try, quietly perched, purposefully poised, hand outstretched tempted in vain to be part of what I cannot, for I am at last an outsider and if I get too close, or chance a grab, it vanishes.

So I listen. I live in the buzz. I marvel in the moment, sure this time I will capture the magic to share with the world, as I try now. But as I try, I fail. I already have. Silly Sy, those tricks are for kids.

Obviously, I was given to fancy this morning. My kids knocked my socks off yesterday with their work. Work with no grade. We have not a single point in the book–and won’t for some time. The work my kids did yesterday was prompted not by compliance to points but by commitment to their learning, by commitment to each other. It was magic. But as with all magic, there’s no magic if one does not believe. I believe in the magic of kids. Maybe there’s a certain magic in that, too. I tried to capture it for you this morning the way that it captured me. But we know that’s impossible. Still, Silly Sy will try. Again and again.

Today’s Trail…

Along today’s trail we will…

...begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…hear our Mindset Mantra.

…finish and present our Bridges and Barriers project.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all. Sorry for the odd post. Thank you for humoring me.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.