Beginning Again

As Catherine McTamaney so eloquently describes in The Tao of Montessori, the start of each school year is a little like a birth. Now neither she nor I intend dishonor to the real, sweaty physicality that accompanies the birth of a child. I've witnessed this, and it is a huge gift, in a long line of many, that mothers give their children. (In fact, after seeing it, I began to think that we should be celebrating mothers every year on children's birthdays!)

BUT there are similarities. There's the excitement and nervousness of a new beginning. There's the hurried, worried preparation--getting things ready for the arrival of a child. There is often grunting, sweating, pushing--sometimes harsh words or tears. Finally, there's the beautiful business of getting to know the needs of an individual and falling in love with a child.

"Every year, we begin again. Every year, we wonder how in the world we had the stamina to survive the year before. There is a grace in short memories. If we remembered how difficult the beginning of each cycle is, we might not have the courage to begin again.

Each year we struggle. Our classrooms begin in such chaos. Children are crying. Mothers are crying. Fathers are crying. When everyone's gone home, we are crying! Pitchers of water crash in the kitchen. Golden beads hide in the cabinet out of fear. Toes are stubbed on unattended chairs. The toilets overflow.

We are birthing our classrooms again and find ourselves in the sweaty, wet redness of hard labor. Like mothers with many children, it doesn't get easier but we gain perspective. We trust that the children and the classroom will calm. We know that the fear will subside.

There is a gift for each of us in this cycle. Each autumn brings us rebirth. Each school year gives us the chance to begin again, to apply the lessons we learned from our mistakes. Each school year gives us the chance to be young again, even on the days when we feel like we may be too old for this!

There is danger, too. Each year, we agree again to love the children we will lose in ten months. Each year, we agree to the briefest moment's glimpse of the peace it creates before it is time again to say good-bye. Amazingly, our vulnerable hearts keep beating. We return again and again.

Cycles do what cycles do. They build, rise, crest, and begin again. That is the nature of schools. Love dearly each beginning. Mourn dearly each good-bye. Begin again."

--Catherine McTamaney, The Tao of Montessori

So to all the teachers out there, I wish you well in the midst of sweaty labor and the birth of another year, another community. To all the mothers (and fathers and grandparents and aunts and uncles!), we honor the work you've done and are doing that brings a beautiful child to the doorstep of our classroom and entrusts in us his/her care. Please know that we wouldn't do this work if we didn't fall in love with each and every one of your children. It is a gift to be able to "participate in the unwinding expression of their individuality" (McTamaney).

What We're Reading

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

The Fabulous Flying Fandinis by Ingrid Slyder