one more class this semester and i am bursting with something like pride for my students. they are demonstrating their learning over and over. they bring their energy and dedication to learning how to teach reading with a freshness, a depth of gratitude for the practices and abundant content, that i am confident they will change the world. next week is our last class. i am writing a Farewell to them that i hope will reinforce to them that they are powerful and they are going to be creating education in the future that is brilliantly empathic, literate and loving.

my students, these young people, these teachers, they are the ones that all grandparents wish their grandchildren and other peoples’ grandchildren encounter when they enter the schoolhouse doors. they will welcome them. they are the ones who will look at all children with calm and determined eyes and never give up on them. they will look to the margins and ensure that every child’s voice is heard. that every child learns to read and write well. how lucky am i to have had these months with them to witness their growth and all the positive energy they share? (highly recommend.) to observe the growth and development of those you “teach” is an awesome feeling, but to imagine their trajectory far outpacing your own is the essence of mentoring. thank you, thank you, thank you.

i gotta go. this Farewell piece won’t write itself. the future is calling and it’s a lovely day.