When I think of all the NEWS (new students, new parents, new books) that we encounter as we begin
school in August, the first thing that comes to mind is a scene from the movie “You’ve
Got Mail.” Meg Ryan plays the main character who states that August makes her want
“a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.”
This captures so well the magical nature of this fresh start…this new
beginning.
As I look ahead to my year I say to myself, “You are perfectly imperfect.”
As a typical over achiever and perfectionist, I find myself wanting to always
have the perfect lesson. To have a
worksheet or game executed exactly as I have envisioned. Well…if you’re a teacher reading this, you
already know that what I described above only exists in the constructs of my
mind. The reality is I am going to teach
lessons that I wish I had taught differently, or worksheets that turn out to somewhat
useless for the purpose I intended.
It is at these moments that I will take a deep breath…and
then another…and say to myself, “you are perfectly imperfect”, over and over
again. I know deep in my heart that I am
always pushing to do the very best and be the very best. I also know that may mean not being "perfect." I must follow the advice I give to my students:
Mistakes are proof that you are trying.
