Time Capsule

This popped up on my email tonight, thanks to a message left by former student Scott "Sco" Croner.

I had completely forgotten that I had to save this on YouTube in order to share it with Charlie's parents. It's a little time capsule of that day in November of 2016.

The little details of this video are what make me a little wistful. Watching how everybody got up when the pledge started, sat back down when it ended, and how I see some stop folders out, because we had undoubtedly just finished doing our Word of the Day. The Spell Bowl advertisement, the fact that the kids are dressed up (which tells me this was probably the day of our BizTown interviews), plus the book trivia all convey a very specific slice of time from each school year. I see Grant, Char, Louie, Abdul, Drew, and Rohan, and of course Charlie, which conveys a special slice of my teaching career.

This video makes me really happy for the 18 years I spent teaching. It reminds me of a special connection that I was able to make with my students--of the power of ritual and culture and custom.

I start my new job on Monday. I only hope that this new job will bring me a tiny bit of the happiness that I found with teaching all those years. I'm looking forward to having time to do my work, to training and teaching people in other ways, and to a different purpose. But I am extremely thankful for all the memories I have of teaching fifth graders. Most people will never get even a little of that.