I spent some time looking through the pictures I had taken of my class last week. They varied. Some were intentional. I had taken them for data collection. They would serve as a purpose for my Field Study or student assessment. These spoke much about what we had been doing that day and addressed the learning objectives that I had tried to accomplish. They spoke to the intensity of my job: the demands of educational practice, keeping students motivated and teaching to individual needs and personalities. To be honest, many of them brought to mind a very busy, emotionally draining day. As I continued to scroll through the photographs I found myself smiling.
A warmth spread through me – the kind that teachers experience when they have made a connection with a student. Or when the humour of a situation allows itself to override all the complexities of the day. It is a good thing. A very good thing. It heals me of a cynical, critical heart and moves me to laughter and joy.
I am then thankful for the moments of memory a picture provides: a time for reflection and for seeing the good in my students, in my job and in me as a person.