Grow? Grow! Grow.

I’ve started teaching English at a new school, in a new district. It’s been a month and twelve days. Each day has been it’s own gift and call.

Most of the gifts I’ve found in those days have been in the people that I work with. Those that I work with help tell me where to find something, how to do something, or lighten my load in significant ways. They are also there with me, at the same level, no one has got this all in hand. Those that have a handle on something that I need help with share their wisdom. Each day, the adults are there to walk with me.

The other set of gifts come from the people that I teach. They show up with their whole selves. They arrive ready to prod at the edges and depths of each person who captivates their attention, trying to find something to latch onto, to make them feel less alone. They are there to reflecting back the fractured whole that is every human, especially right now, in America. They see the edges, but long for the connections.

Part of the beauty of this mosaic is that they’re unaware of what they are doing, but are doing it anyway. They are finding and distinguishing themeslves from and within their tribe. They are sifting the shards of information and reassembling it in a sensible order. They are trying to find a place to stand on this shaky ground. They are trying to find a place in my class. They are trying to figure out what kind of teacher I am.

Together, we are reclaiming this room and this content.

The call is to grow together, not apart. To find room for ourselves with each other and in what we’re doing. One has to come first. The community must be built before the learning can happen.

So we’re in the middle of growing an understanding of each other and an understanding of what we’re learning. It’s not the cleanest start, nor the least challenging. It is necessary to where I want to be and where they are right now. I am confident we can find our rhythm, and have something to show for our efforts by the end of the year.