This Magic Moment

Teaching has its ups and downs. To quote an old John Denver song, 
Some days are diamonds, some days are stone.
This is about one of those diamond days. It's from April 2, 2011.

Every profession has its frustrations and mine is no different. At the end of some school days, I wonder what was accomplished in my classroom and if I wasted the time I was allotted to teach kids about Jesus. But some days, you have a magical moment that reminds you why you do what you do and why it makes a difference. I had one of those yesterday. It was brief but it left me with the glow we all want at the end of the day. The 3:25 bell rang, marking the end of eighth period, the end of the day, and the end of the week at Westbury Christian School. And when the bell rang, not one of the twenty-three eighth graders in my charge left the room. A few stood and talked to classmates while most remained seated, finishing a piece of art promoting our Honduras orphanage project. Not a single youngster made their way towards the door so after a minute or so, I reminded them the day was over. I also suggested that since they were in no hurry to leave, maybe we could get a movie and some Cokes and popcorn and have a slumber party. One of my players, Laura, excitedly exclaimed, "Really??!!!" I had to break the bad news, explaining I was not serious, a letdown for the wonderful Laura. It took about fifteen minutes for all of them to be on their way. There is no logical explanation why they wanted to hang around in Room 258 yesterday but I'm glad they did. Sometimes, you wonder if anyone is listening and if it matters. Yesterday, I'm pretty sure they were ...... and it does.

Applicable quote of the day:
"A teacher's day is half bureaucracy, half crisis, half monotony and one-eighth epiphany. Never mind the arithmetic.”
Susan Ohanian

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com