Ordinary Heroes

Each year that passes, I think of them. That class. The one that left a permanent mark. It was a year that changed me. It may have been a year that changed all of us. When I think back on that class, I’m reminded of all that was good and all that was imperfect. We took all that we knew and all that we didn’t know and became explorers, daring into the unknown to learn more.

That class can easily become ideal in my memory, but it was not. No class is perfect. They were ordinary kids and I was their ordinary teacher. What we had was the opportunity to learn beyond the walls of the classroom and the courage to step outside the box to become something different. It began with an adventure in writing and evolved into a community of inspired learners.

Before they went off to the 5th grade, I wrote a poem. It is a poem inspired by the students who showed me what is possible in a classroom. Students like these come to us each year. Each year there is possibility. Learning is a journey and I am grateful to have traveled a journey with this class.

Today, I took the poem that I dedicated to my students years ago and revised it. It is a reminder to me what is possible in a classroom where ordinary students become an ordinary teacher’s heroes.

 
Ordinary Heroes
Sometimes ordinary people
in ordinary places
stand out
 
unafraid
to stand alone
they outshine
their ordinary places
 
Sometimes ordinary people
in ordinary places
learn to fly
 
unaffected
by ordinary walls
they inspire
far beyond possibility
 
Sometimes ordinary people
in ordinary places
are not ordinary at all