I wonder if others can feel it? I feel it. I believe my kids feel it. But I wonder if others can as they enter our room. It is there, among and around us. Some days subtle. Other days palpable. But it is always there. Always.

It was there when I started back in ’96, but we were not well acquainted yet. It waited for me. I caught up with it the next year when I followed my 7th graders to the the 8th, giving me the honor of having the same kids two years in a row. I met it through them.

Over the years, I’ve come to know it quite well. It has proven a ready companion, a loyal ally to turn to when things get tough. And it, no matter the need, has always showed me the way. It is full of wisdom.

But it is not exclusive. To be sure, I see it everywhere. It is in classrooms around the nation, around the world. It is even in the classrooms where it has not yet been discovered. It is an omnipresence, but it will not be forced. It has to be welcomed. And once it is welcomed, it changes everything. It alone has that power.

It is it. It is all. There is nothing else. Over the years I have sought to make it mine, but it cannot be owned; it cannot be made; it cannot be bought, imitated, or replicated. It is authentic. So, consequently, it cannot be named. It is simply it. So what is it? It is not mine to name. But I can tell you what it is not.

It is not a text book.

It is not a test.

Nor curriculum or program.

It is not management.

It is not a number or letter.

And never a percentage.

It is never the same.

It changes every year, without exception.

It is neither fleeting nor permanent.

It is not a motto or mission statement.

It is simply and only it. I am so glad I found it all those years ago. And now, as this twenty-third year comes to a close, I feel it–deeply, as I look out at my kids, missing them already.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing as writers.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all. Sorry for the odd post this morning. I was feeling it.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.