Journal: 10/25/05

Yesterday was one of my best days as a teacher in recent memory. I’m not sure why, but all of my classes ran as smoothly and successfully as I ever could have hoped. Nearly all that I had hoped to accomplish when I made my lesson plans was actually accomplished in each of the classes. For some reason, no significant obstacles – no interruptions, no detours, no noticeable confusion -- blocked our way as the students and I followed my plans, step after step. Looking back on the success of the day, I have no idea why it happened. Yes, I made careful plans, but I always make careful plans, and often they only lead to a very limited amount of success. I sometimes feel quite discouraged after a day’s teaching, even though I planned everything down to the smallest detail. Why, then, was yesterday so special? Why was I a good teacher yesterday and only a mediocre one on so many other days? It’s a mystery, and I think it always will be. It’s like the mystery of the wind. Can we say exactly where the wind begins? When a breeze touches our hands, can we tell precisely where it started and how it came to finally brush across us? No, because it’s a mystery, just like the mystery of my successful teaching yesterday. A breeze of good learning -- one that brought both knowledge and satisfaction to my students and me -- blew through my class room, and I am just happy I was there to feel and enjoy it.