Passion, Courage
By Allen A. Raymond, Publisher

"No big deal," I can hear you interjecting. "Visit my classroom any time, any day; teachers are always passionate."

And that is certainly true. For over 40 years I've witnessed passion in classrooms everywhere. It manifests itself in tears, hugs, smiles, laughter, clapping hands, "high fives" and the other joyful emotions teachers (and kids) display in their classrooms day after day.

But there's another type of passion my dictionary describes as "A fit of intense and furious anger; rage."

Rage comes to mind as I recall how some fathers lose their cool at Little League games when they don't like the way the umpire treats their eight-year-old son.

For several years I managed a Little League team and one day a father (until that moment I thought he was a close friend) was literally "in my face", nose to nose with fire in his eyes and roaring anger in his voice, as he complained when I took his son out of the game because I wanted to give another kid a chance to play.

The incident was so awful that, 50 years later, I still remember it with sadness. I was speechless, but appalled, hurt and, yes, saddened. Even today I wonder how anyone could possibly act like that – for any reason. And in front of his child?

I would never expect to see anything like that in a classroom, of course, and I never have. Instead, I've seen joy, laughter, warmth. And yes, on many occasions – in Wyoming, and in California and Texas and Montana and Michigan and Ohio and Louisiana and everywhere – I've seen tears as teachers talked to me about a child who needed extra help, a child who couldn't sit still, a talented child who couldn't read or a child who, reflecting that infectious joy we know so well, suddenly exclaimed, "I get it!"

This is old hat to you, of course, but it may be comforting to know there are those of us in the hinterlands who recognize you for what you are – a teacher and, sometimes, a hand-holding, emotions-soothing, minute-to-minute miracle worker, ministering to the basic social and emotional lives of the kids in your class, some of whom are often "on the edge."

It will be reassuring for you to know that while that's going on in your classroom, the rest of us – who are non-teachers – are facing our own daily emotional challenges as we wonder why the coffee we're drinking at our desk isn't hot enough.

And that once again reminds me (don't ask me how) of my favorite book, John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles In Courage, in which he relates the stories of politicians who, over the years, took courageous positions when it might have been easier to follow a less courageous route.

I know there are zillions of books about wonderful teachers – we seem to receive a lot of them from publishers. So, if you have a favorite Kennedy-type book emphasizing courageous and passionate teachers, tell me about it and I'll share your comments with our readers.

My address: Allen Raymond, Teaching K-8, 40 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854; my e-mail: Allen@TeachingK-8.com

And finally, have a wonderful summer. We'll miss you (but we'll be back).

Allen Raymond is the Editor/Publisher for Teaching Pre K-8.