Eyes Full of Hope
I look at this photo every single year around this time.
In it, I see a new teacher, whose eyes are full of hope.
I see a new teacher who was right out of college, who had just turned 21 years old two weeks earlier. “Dangerous Minds” was the big box-office smash hit that summer. She was both terrified and excited. Her classroom was used as a storage room the year before. She spent hours hauling out boxes and junk, trying to make the room feel warm and welcoming for the high school students that she had yet to meet.
I see a new teacher whose gross, pre-tax salary that year was $22,436. She worked a weekend retail job to make ends meet. The purple crate served as her bedside nightstand when she wasn’t using it to bring in carefully selected and self-purchased school supplies for her very first classroom. She loved that $5 checkered dress that she’d found on a vintage rack in a small shop just outside of Austin, TX.
I see a new teacher who clipped coupons and shopped the sales at the grocery store to ensure she could afford to pick up boxes of granola bars each week - at her school, 1 in 3 students lived below the poverty line and sometimes, they showed up to school very hungry.
I see a new teacher who sweated over every lesson and worried about every kid. She came early and stayed late, a lot.
But mostly, I see a new teacher, whose eyes are full of hope.
She really believed that she really could change the world, one person at a time. She still believes that she can change the world, one person at a time.
She was (is) me.
I re-visit this photo every single August, because it serves as a tangible, simple reminder. To stay grounded in my profession. To remain humble. That no matter how long I serve students and schools, that I should never lose the nervousness and the excitement of teaching and learning. And that I should always, always hold out hope for our children. They are depending on us to believe in them. As educators, we are so lucky - we have a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students not just right now, but for the long haul.
Happy new year, everyone. May your eyes be full of hope.
