Lantern High

A notification popped up on my screen. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett was finally available. I had placed a hold on it months ago, long before my friend and colleague Carolyn wrote about it in a Slice of Life she shared with our school community. It was a post that brought tears to my eyes and caused me to get right up to walk to Carolyn’s classroom to hug her. As I began listening this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have noticed the dedication had it not been for Carolyn’s writing. “For Kate DiCamillo who held the lantern high.”

I’ve had a lot of thoughts and conversations with friends, colleagues, classmates, and administrators about maintaining high expectations for students. I can’t help but wonder if, in the face of challenges, we have been lowering the bar to explain away the challenges. “Kids are different now.” “Teachers have so much on their plates.” “This work is hard.”

I have found myself thinking back to my beginning years as a classroom teacher and all of the people that held the lantern high, who inspired me to do the same. There were so many then. Was it just because I was young and impressionable? I remember the tears I shed after meeting with my assistant principal, who was also my supervisor. I was, at times, angry with her, for pushing me so hard and having to explain the choices I made. I also think of my principal who, at the time, worked in classrooms every day, learning and growing. Or my mentor, two years away from retiring, who never did the same thing twice. She was also adapting and learning in order to be responsive to the students in front of her. I think about all the times that I could have closed my door and just done my own thing. But instead, I allowed others in (maybe they invited themselves in) to help me see all that I did not know and to continue to learn, that the learning never ends. Would I have become the same educator if it weren’t for those lanterns guiding the way? I wonder.

These lanterns that burned for me as a young teacher are the lanterns that continue to guide me and cause me to ask hard questions and champion the children that fill our classrooms. I am filled with gratitude for all of the times I had to contemplate the things I did and then go back to the drawing board to dream up something new. Those external questions were internalized and I learned that I can face challenges, while at the same time maintain high expectations.