–is its dynamic nature.

I mean, we are talking crazy. This is teleporting from the surface of pluto to the surface of the sun in oh, like, 15 minutes.

Ok..so, to be honest, maybe sometimes it is too dynamic. But not often. Most of the time, the worst of the worst comes right before the type of great day that makes me want to sit and stare out the window and savor the feeling and not forget it ever, ever, ever.

Like friday* was one of those beautiful days. Incredible. I worked really, really really hard and used every trick I know, and it all worked. Clockwork. Swiss clockwork with half a gazillion ruby crystal bearings. The kids understood me well, they worked hard, they were helpful, and everybody learned and had fun. Lovely. Did I mention that thursday was positively hell on wheels?

I think this dynamic nature of teaching appeals to me so because it tells of the human condition. Generally, a rough day for me means that one or more of my students was having a bad day. When a day goes from being the worst day ever to being the best day ever (for me, that is), that correspondingly means that one or more of my students exhibited some great resilience and heart and went from having a miserable time to having a hoot: smiling, laughing, and learning. And I love that about humans, resilience and heart and the ability to recover and stand up and do well. And when I see that in my students, well, lets just say the stark beauty of it has gotten me misty-eyed on more then one occasion.

*This was from sometime late april ’14, written on a monday.