#togetherwegrow
I received an envelope in the mail earlier this week with a return address that told me it was from my school. Inside was a short and sincere message from my principal and assistant principal. And a package of lavender seeds to go along with our distance learning theme: #togetherwegrow
I was so touched... and super excited about the lavender!! I love lavender, and we don't have any lavender plants in our yard. I can't wait to start growing it. I've already started researching how to grow it from seeds. I want to make sure I give it the best possible chance to thrive! Matt and I do a pretty good job of sustaining the plants in our garden, but we typically get them as established plants. We've had minimal success keeping indoor or container plants alive, and even less success with growing plants from seeds. I want to turn that around, because I REALLY want this lavender to grow and become established. So research first-- figure out what I need to do, AND then I will get to planting.
The more I think about these little tiny lavender seeds, the more appropriate this small, thoughtful gift seems. Most likely, my plants won't flower the first year they are planted. They take a little time to establish and mature enough to flower. Which is totally fine with me, I can wait. The time will pass anyway right? And then, just think how excited I'll be once the lavender flowers make their appearance! It's just like my peony plants. The first year they were shrubs with no flowers. I had to wait an extra YEAR for the blooms. But once they came... swoon... worth the wait. In the mean time, I have to my part to get them ready to bloom and grow and THRIVE.
As I started thinking about that, I couldn't help but notice how similar the thoughts I had about tending these little lavender seeds were to the thoughts I have about my students. Right now, I'm tending them as they grow. Little bits of water and nutrients. The right conditions. Waiting for time to play it's part. I'm hardly the first person to ever make an analogy between teaching and growing flowers.
But here's the part that really hit me... TIME. I keep thinking about how I am running out of time with my students... or ran out of time since in some ways I will always feel like part of what we were doing stopped when the school buildings closed down. But anyway... there just isn't enough time for all the things we need to do. I feel like time is my most precious resource as a teacher and it slips through my fingers faster than I thought possible. How on earth is there less than a month left of the school year? I'm not ready to let my kids go on to middle school! I need more time with them... please! I feel like the work isn't done yet...
And it's not done. Would I feel like it was even if we were still teaching in the building? I doubt it. Here's the thing. Unlike my lavender plants (and the peonies before it), I got to stay around and witness the growth and blooming that came after all the tender love and care. But I don't get to do that with my students. They move on at a predetermined point no matter where we are in our process. And of course the work isn't done. It can't be done in the 9 months I have with them anymore than I could force a lavender plant to be mature and established in that amount of time. Which is a bummer. Because I really wish I could see what they are like when they are mature and established.
Instead, I do my part. I do my work to help them as they grow. I play my very small but important role in impacting their future. And then, I hand them off, trusting (and hoping) that the next teachers who come into their life will see the treasure they have in these little green stalks. It's amazing to get to be a part of this community of people who care enough to invest in these kids who are and who become part of our future. And it's so reassuring to know that, even if I might not see the fruit of my labor immediately after I do the work... it doesn't mean I didn't make a difference.
So I will plant my lavender when I feel like I somewhat know what I am doing. I'll take good care of it. I will wait patiently for those first blooms. And when they come (because I'm choosing to believe that they will come), I'll remember back to this first year of teaching. This crazy pandemic that has turned the world upside down. And I'll remember my very first class and wonder how they are doing. And year after year, the lavender will keep me connected to them. Maybe... hopefully... at some point in the future, I'll get to see my students bloom, too. :)
(note: Just to clarify, I'm well aware of the fact that this analogy leaves out the fact that there are already plenty of wonderful things about each of them already... or that kids need teachers in order to thrive.... just that I hope to be the kind of teacher that does have a positive impact on my students)
I was so touched... and super excited about the lavender!! I love lavender, and we don't have any lavender plants in our yard. I can't wait to start growing it. I've already started researching how to grow it from seeds. I want to make sure I give it the best possible chance to thrive! Matt and I do a pretty good job of sustaining the plants in our garden, but we typically get them as established plants. We've had minimal success keeping indoor or container plants alive, and even less success with growing plants from seeds. I want to turn that around, because I REALLY want this lavender to grow and become established. So research first-- figure out what I need to do, AND then I will get to planting.
The more I think about these little tiny lavender seeds, the more appropriate this small, thoughtful gift seems. Most likely, my plants won't flower the first year they are planted. They take a little time to establish and mature enough to flower. Which is totally fine with me, I can wait. The time will pass anyway right? And then, just think how excited I'll be once the lavender flowers make their appearance! It's just like my peony plants. The first year they were shrubs with no flowers. I had to wait an extra YEAR for the blooms. But once they came... swoon... worth the wait. In the mean time, I have to my part to get them ready to bloom and grow and THRIVE.
As I started thinking about that, I couldn't help but notice how similar the thoughts I had about tending these little lavender seeds were to the thoughts I have about my students. Right now, I'm tending them as they grow. Little bits of water and nutrients. The right conditions. Waiting for time to play it's part. I'm hardly the first person to ever make an analogy between teaching and growing flowers.
But here's the part that really hit me... TIME. I keep thinking about how I am running out of time with my students... or ran out of time since in some ways I will always feel like part of what we were doing stopped when the school buildings closed down. But anyway... there just isn't enough time for all the things we need to do. I feel like time is my most precious resource as a teacher and it slips through my fingers faster than I thought possible. How on earth is there less than a month left of the school year? I'm not ready to let my kids go on to middle school! I need more time with them... please! I feel like the work isn't done yet...
And it's not done. Would I feel like it was even if we were still teaching in the building? I doubt it. Here's the thing. Unlike my lavender plants (and the peonies before it), I got to stay around and witness the growth and blooming that came after all the tender love and care. But I don't get to do that with my students. They move on at a predetermined point no matter where we are in our process. And of course the work isn't done. It can't be done in the 9 months I have with them anymore than I could force a lavender plant to be mature and established in that amount of time. Which is a bummer. Because I really wish I could see what they are like when they are mature and established.
Instead, I do my part. I do my work to help them as they grow. I play my very small but important role in impacting their future. And then, I hand them off, trusting (and hoping) that the next teachers who come into their life will see the treasure they have in these little green stalks. It's amazing to get to be a part of this community of people who care enough to invest in these kids who are and who become part of our future. And it's so reassuring to know that, even if I might not see the fruit of my labor immediately after I do the work... it doesn't mean I didn't make a difference.
So I will plant my lavender when I feel like I somewhat know what I am doing. I'll take good care of it. I will wait patiently for those first blooms. And when they come (because I'm choosing to believe that they will come), I'll remember back to this first year of teaching. This crazy pandemic that has turned the world upside down. And I'll remember my very first class and wonder how they are doing. And year after year, the lavender will keep me connected to them. Maybe... hopefully... at some point in the future, I'll get to see my students bloom, too. :)
(note: Just to clarify, I'm well aware of the fact that this analogy leaves out the fact that there are already plenty of wonderful things about each of them already... or that kids need teachers in order to thrive.... just that I hope to be the kind of teacher that does have a positive impact on my students)
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