Yearning is exactly what I am doing at this moment! Yes, I am yearning to get over to my TV to watch the women’s final four championship game between Baylor and Notre Dame. However, I will take the time to address this emotional state which often overcomes both my students and me.
We have just completed our annual achievement testing this past week, and now everyone yearns for school to be over. Yet, we have about thirty-one more school days before dismissal for summer. This is a trying time since students know their achievement scores are now set on hard copy. Is there any way to change that in the coming weeks? No. However, I can question them to find areas about which they feel uncertain and shore up their skills for the future.
There’s nothing like a test to point out to a student that noting weak areas and then fixing them is prevention for future failure or shortcomings. This time is probably the most serious time for a student to reflect upon his/her skills. During the regular school year, social activities, sports, and just plain day-to-day living all scream for attention. However, the seriousness of achievement testing seems to grab student attention like no other time. I will use it to gain advantage in their educational journeys.
Our weather has finally changed enough that the lawns are being mowed again, flowers are blooming everywhere, and the trees have put on their beautiful attire of leaves and blossoms. Yearning for summer break becomes a staple emotion now. It is during this push for summer that I must be most cautious about playground rules. It is true that the sap is rising in the trees…but it is also the adrenaline rush in the students that is most obvious at recess times!
Other than the aforementioned-yearning, I yearn for a time of peace. I am tired of the political wars and the divisions in our land. I yearn for simple times of the past. Yet, I realize that one can never go back to “what was once.” Rather than become depressed by the political banter, I can choose to be optimistic like my daughter, put on a smile and hope for better things ahead. I don’t worry as such…I believe the Bible and all the prophesies I’ve read thousands of times. I know God is in control.
I am happy to report that my students have done well on their testing. I am yearning for the world to be ready for these young people who have so much potential for changing our future. Thus, to know I had a small part in preparing them for their contribution to our future…that’s an emotion like no other! Kay