The fire is roaring in the fireplace this afternoon as the skies outside remain in a perpetual state of gray. We have so far escaped much of the ice storm that our friends and family to the north of us have endured. I've never been a big fan of ice and the accompanying misery that it sometimes brings with it and then leaves behind. The worst ice storm that I can personally remember was in 1984 back home in Reno County, Kansas. We were without power at our house in the country south of Hutchinson for 6 1/2 days. My Ricky was only 4 at the time and doesn't remember it. If he did, it would be the recollection of a week long campout right inside of his own home. I never did forget it. It took some pretty ingenious thinking to cook on an old wood burning stove for the better part of the week, take a semi-lukewarm bath, and entertain ourselves with one game of scrabble after another. Hey and on a positive note, it was during that stay inside of the house that I learned "Q U A" really was a word that had the possibility of scoring a lot of points and I always remembered that.
It wasn't fun, that's for sure, but we made it. Amazing what you can do when you have to.
I'm heading home to Kansas for a visit on Monday and pray the ice will have been gone by that time. I'll be away from the kids at school for a couple of days and so we've been spending the last couple of weeks going over procedures and expectations while I am gone. Lesson plans have been completed and laid out on my desk with hopes that the substitute will have no problems following them.
You know, sometimes you just have to be gone.
In nearly 4 decades of being in education, I have learned many valuable lessons. One of them is this.
Kids need the opportunity to show you what they can do when you are not there. It's a lesson in integrity.
My 20 students are fixing to get that special opportunity this week upcoming.
There are many lessons to teach children these days. Everything is state assessment driven, not only in Oklahoma but in every other state out there. Children must be proficient at reading and mathematics. They need to know about social studies and science as well as knowing how to present their thoughts in written form. Third graders today are learning much of what I never saw until the 5th grade and beyond. It's a sign of the times.
Yet even in all of this, regardless of the fact that I realize the importance of being test ready, I much more prefer to teach children the lessons of life. One of those lessons is that your teacher is not always going to be with you, whether it be during the school year or ten years from now. The fine art of fending for oneself and showing what it is that you know is a critical one to learn.
My being gone for a few days presents them with the chance to practice what it is that I always preach to them, and you know what?
I think they will do just fine.
When I was a little girl their age, I used to love to play inside this little milk house at our farm in the Sandhills of Harvey County. I got the chance to visit it back in 2011 and what memories it brought back to me. This was the first time I had been there since we moved to Haven in 1963. The happy times of living there are still tucked deep into my heart.
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