It Doesn't Take Much

Teaching is often a thankless profession.  Like most of my colleagues, I'm certainly not in it for the money.  I keep plugging along, waiting for the little moments of grace, the moments that make it all worthwhile.  I had one last week, and its effect still lingers.  One of my students asked if she could decorate my classroom for Halloween. I said should sure, why not.

To be honest, the next morning I had completely forgotten about the offer.  Kids say they're going to do things all the time and then flake out.  I was pleasantly surprised when my student showed up, shopping bag of supplies in tow.  She put a cotton cobweb full of spiders around my doorframe, and together we found the perfect place to hang the mini-skeleton she had brought.

It doesn't sound like much, but it made my day.  Hell, it made my month.  There is a lot of negativity in the teaching profession, and don't get me wrong, I can be as jaded as the next guy.  But I'll tell ya, all it takes is one kid to care.  The decorations aren't much, but my room has never looked better.