Light in Darkness: The Eclipse of Education

Dear Friends,

Today, in many parts of the world, we will experience an eclipse, an event created with such precision that it can only be seen on earth and nowhere else in our solar system. If you witness this event with your students, I hope you will see their excitement in witnessing a marvelous event and learning more about their universe. I hope you will enjoy seeing their joy and will talk about the event with them in class. 

The darkness of the eclipse, with the moon in between us and the sun, will reveal the corona and other parts of the sun that we never see, all because of the darkness covering the sun.  In schools, it is easy to only see problems, misbehaviors, lack of motivation, which distresses us all. We want students to succeed. But, even with our best efforts, sometimes, we lose our passion. This essay today is written for you, dear teachers, as you are like the sun in your students’ lives. 

Every day some of your students come to school with darkness, generated from home problems, financial instability, homelessness situations, mental health concerns and more. They walk into your classrooms not at their very, very best and it’s easy to think, “well, if he wants to have an attitude, why should I try?”

Here’s why:
Because you may be the only light in that student’s life that day who cares that he or she exists. And because of finding it within yourself to seek out something… something that you can compliment him or her on, you make a difference. I guarantee that… even if you don’t see immediate results.

Keep going and going and going until you do. You will. You just need to look.

Students don’t know how to tell you what they need unless you ask, so, ask, when you are stumped.  When a student sleeps through class or isolates within her hoodie, or refuses to do work, do not give up. Find time later to go to that student and say something to engage them. Don’t expect great responses at first, as your words may be so foreign they won’t believe that you mean them.  Keep trying because YOU deserve to see what you can create with patience such as that. You deserve to finally see one day when that student looks up at you when you are teaching or stops disrupting the class because you said something kind about their hair, their t-shirt, their backpack. In other words, recognize that your words are more powerful than you would ever imagine and, they are never forgotten. Use them carefully, please.

In conclusion, enjoy the eclipse today, if you are fortunate to see it and if you don’t, watch it later online or on television. Notice the parts of the sun around the edges of the moon - we don’t get to see that part of the sun. And let it remind you to look for the edges of light in your students, perhaps for the rest of the week.

Think of it as an experiment.

Enjoy the results.