My father once told me, "Always leave something better than you found it." Be it a borrowed lawnmower, a campsite, or a kid, leave it better - somehow - than when it came to you. On the last day of school for eleven years now, I've sat at the front of the classroom and attempted to impart this piece of advice on students who, most of the time, didn't hear a word I said.
I hope that maybe a few did. And conversely, maybe a few were, in fact left "better" after being in my class. I know that most of them, as well as most of my colleagues, have left me a little better. I always count down the hours until that last day...when those challenging kids that drove me crazy all year will walk out the door for the last time. Then, when it finally rolls around and the staff lines up on the sidewalk to wave off the buses for summer, horns-a-blaring, I'm the one a little choked up. Did I leave that kid any better? Could I have done more? Maybe. Luckily, I'll have another chance, with another kid, during another year that I'll surely count down to the end.Until then, there are kids yet un-met in a little town around the world. 20 days.
