the goal of intellectual education is not to know how to repeat or retain ready-made truths [a truth that is parroted is only a half-truth]. it is in learning to master the environment by oneself at the risk of losing a lot of time and going through all the roundabout ways that are inherent in real activity.
- piaget, 1973
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
a letter to my students
my dear children,
sometimes i forget to love you like i should. i'm sorry for that. i'm sorry that i fuss and i'm sorry that i get frustrated and i'm sorry that sometimes i momentarily forget just how beautiful and special and amazing you really are.
i know that sometimes the things we all ask of you are hard. i know you have to struggle sometimes. i know this isnt easy. and i know i'm asking a lot of you- because i am asking you to learn, to try, to grow. and i know just how painful and ridiculous and gut-wrenching every one of those things can be. [because i am learning and trying and growing too.]
i also know that you can do it. i believe in you. there will be teachers who will give up on you. i wont. there will be teachers who might believe that they cannot teach you. i wont. there may even be teachers who throw their hands in the air and stop trying. i wont.
i can promise you that there will be days when i am defeated, days when i think that i'm getting no where, days when i think i have failed you. and there may even be days when i want very much to quit. but i wont. because i can also promise you that i know that few things in my life make as much sense as going to that school every day and teaching you.
i promise to be real with you. i promise to fight for you. i promise to do everything i can for you. sure, sometimes i wont be enough. sometimes we will all fail. sometimes its going to hurt. but i'll be there with you: learning, trying, growing. and we'll get through this together.
thank you for the chance to be your teacher. i only ask for the grace to become.
love,
miss emily
sometimes i forget to love you like i should. i'm sorry for that. i'm sorry that i fuss and i'm sorry that i get frustrated and i'm sorry that sometimes i momentarily forget just how beautiful and special and amazing you really are.
i know that sometimes the things we all ask of you are hard. i know you have to struggle sometimes. i know this isnt easy. and i know i'm asking a lot of you- because i am asking you to learn, to try, to grow. and i know just how painful and ridiculous and gut-wrenching every one of those things can be. [because i am learning and trying and growing too.]
i also know that you can do it. i believe in you. there will be teachers who will give up on you. i wont. there will be teachers who might believe that they cannot teach you. i wont. there may even be teachers who throw their hands in the air and stop trying. i wont.
i can promise you that there will be days when i am defeated, days when i think that i'm getting no where, days when i think i have failed you. and there may even be days when i want very much to quit. but i wont. because i can also promise you that i know that few things in my life make as much sense as going to that school every day and teaching you.
i promise to be real with you. i promise to fight for you. i promise to do everything i can for you. sure, sometimes i wont be enough. sometimes we will all fail. sometimes its going to hurt. but i'll be there with you: learning, trying, growing. and we'll get through this together.
thank you for the chance to be your teacher. i only ask for the grace to become.
love,
miss emily
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