Be Like Water!

     We all know how educational life is, right?  We are awoken by the alarm.  We lumber out of bed, pour a cup of coffee and wait for its effects to do what they do.  We brush our teeth, take a shower and get dressed.  We get in our car and go to work for another productive day.  We check and double check that our lesson plans for the day are planned out efficiently.  We greet the kids as they arrive, listen to announcements, and spend the rest of the day teaching 5 different subjects while handling any behavioral issues that crop up.  We dismiss our kids for home by 3:30, and make our way to a faculty meeting, a PLC meeting, or sit behind our desk reorganizing lessons for the next day.  By 5 o' clock we head home, taking any papers that are to be graded.  We make dinner (Or go out) for the family, then transport the kids to whatever practice, rehearsal or event they are in need of going.  We grade our papers, relax a bit with the kids or in front of the television.  We head up to bed, set the alarm and climb between the covers for a well deserved rest. 
     Do I have that about right?  Did I hit the nail on the head?  If this is a day in your educational life you are either WAY FAR MORE ORGANIZED, LUCKY, AND/OR BLESSED THAN I!...or...you are living in a complete state of denial, and will never admit that the above described "Day in an Educational Life" is complete hokum...fiction...a fairy tale!
     Wouldn't it be nice though to actually have a day that moves seamlessly, and smoothly from beginning to end?  It's an awesome thought...a wish even.   I will bet that those of you who read my dribble...if you really think about it, ALL of you are like me.  Our days are spent redoing, reorganizing, putting out fires, spilling our coffee, teaching, re-teaching, reviewing then teaching again, grading papers till all hours, spending our planning making calls or receiving calls.  We have car trouble, grocery shopping, cell phone catastrophes, bills to pay, more money going out than coming in, and children (Our own children) who are in need of everything under the sun!  By the time we get to bed at night it is later than we promised ourselves it would be the night before, and it seems that no sooner do we close our eyes...the alarm goes off!  I believe this is a more accurate description of A Day In the Life of an Educator.
     I don't know what I would do if my day went off without a hitch?  I am not one who waits for the ax to fall, but I am not naive to the fact that what went well on Tuesday, may very easily crash and burn come Wednesday.  Herein lies the meat of this post's dribble...how to handle everything that life has in store everyday as a person...as an educator.
     One of my heroes from my youth was Bruce Lee.  He was everything to me.  I saw every movie he ever made at the drive-in with my dad.  My bedroom walls were plastered with posters of him (And Farrah Fawcett too).  I wanted to BE him.  As I got older I watched a documentary on his life.  In one interview Mr. Lee was asked the philosophy behind his style of King-fu.  He explained...One must be like water;  gentle and flowing, able to move in any direction.  But, water can also be one of the most powerful entities on earth.
     This philosophy struck a cord with me...it made sense.  I have done my utmost to live by this philosophy throughout my life.  Be like water.
     Educators...we have been charged with an awesome responsibility.  With this responsibility comes great rewards for sure!  However, it also comes with much heartache, tired bones, overworked minds, frayed nerves, and near empty wallets.  What keeps me going are the rewards...that is why I stay.  Every year I have about 30 rewards.  Each has a name, and a life, and a mind that needs expanding.  I also stay because I have morphed Mr. Lee's philosophy from an analogous description of his king-fu to my own life as a teacher, as a dad, as a son, as a friend, as brother, as a human being.
     Like water you must flow freely, ever forward...never still so as to become stagnant.  Like water you must be able to bend and turn no matter where a day may take you.  Like water you must reshape yourself without loosing your quality (Be changeable, pliant and adaptable).  No matter what hue of dye is cast (New rules, policy, curriculum), or amount of sediment you must trudge through (DOE or mandated procedures to implement), never loosing the essence of you. 
     Like water we must permeate ourselves into each of our students, and do our very best to be buoyant, and uplift.  No matter how wildly water is splashed it will settle soon enough...wait for the settling.  No matter how big the stone is that impacts us, we cannot allow the resulting effect to create a tsunami!  Instead, absorb the impact...the gentle ripples that ensue will move under all objects in their path...don't be a tsunami of angst and pent up frustration towards your kids.  Like water we are the nourishment, we have the power to cleanse.  If a pebble is removed from the sea, does it lower the sea's level?  Scientifically of course it does, but...does it really matter?  Is the sea all the worse for the loss of a pebble?  No matter how much the system takes from you, be as the sea...you are still you. 
     On the days you are clear, you are golden.  On the days you are turbid...breath, and settle.  All will eventually cascade to the bottom.  Allow your kids to swim in your knowledge, they will all emerge with a bit of you to take with them.  Be like water!
     There will be times when you must be strong...be like water.  Be the raging rapids if you need to make a point, or stand your ground.  Be the current of change...move things in YOUR direction!  Be unmoving and consistant as ice when it comes to rules in your classroom, and light as steam when it comes to fun in your domain.
     Will this very abstract, poetic conveyance of mine keep your life in balance and remove troubles from your classroom, or your life?  YES...and...NO.  It does help me to keep a balance....it helps me to not pull my hair out, or pound the walls.  Will it keep troubles away?  NOPE...not at all.  There will always be obstacles.  Water has a way with obstacles too.  Keep pounding away at any obstacle you encounter, like the waves of the sea.  Over time...the obstacles will erode away.  Be persistent, persevere.
     Educators...dear friends...no matter how busy life gets, no matter how hard and unforgiving, never give up.  There have been many days when I have been turbid, and many days when a tsunami was building on the horizon.  I am sure you all can relate.  I always remember to be like water.  Not raging water, or boiling water.  I sit, and I settle myself.  I think of my son, and my students.  I remember the emails, letters, visitations, and post cards from past students stating how well they enjoyed their year with me.  before long I settle and become clearer. 
     A life without obstacles would be bliss.  A day that went exactly according to planned would be like Shangrila!  How amazing it would be!  How awesome, how delightful...and how dull.