Friday Tidings

After a few weeks in the classroom, Anne knows which kids are struggling. Sometimes its money. She has a ready supply of pens, paper, and binders to give away.  Kids come to school ill-equipped for cold weather. She hits the secondhand stores for an assortment of warm sweaters, coats, and boots. And before the high school’s spring dance, she’s scanning consignment racks for cute prom dresses and guy’s dress shirts. Her students won’t be left out because they didn’t have anything to wear. Some students need more time than a class period. So, Anne keeps her door open so students have a place to go after school.  Sometimes she’ll even ask a student to stay after school. It’s more than just homework catch-up, it’s because she cares about their future. She knows that school is their ticket to a hopeful future. With over two decades in the classroom, there aren’t many needs she hasn’t seen among her students. Anne jokes that she has a h...

I loved playing tennis as a teenager. When I was learning how, my dad and I practiced on a dilapidated court next to the town’s nearly abandoned airport. No one was around to watch us and we’d make up games as we played. I think we laughed more than anything. For my 15 th birthday, Mom even created a tennis racket shaped cake. I can’t recall the wishes I made before blowing out the candles, but with all the erratic expectations of youth, anything was possible. A couple birthdays later, I remember staying after class for help on my English essay. My teacher sat on the edge of her desk, and in a thoughtful way cautioned me that taking school too seriously wouldn’t be good for my health.  Life was more than school.   She was right, but I hadn’t experienced enough life to understand what she meant. Two birthdays after that, when I had discovered that life was indeed much more than school, I went to a college that focused less...