Starfish

This week I have thought a lot about the story of the old man who daily walks along the beach rescuing starfish stranded in the sand. He tosses them back out to safety in the sea. When he looks down the length of the beach, the sands stretch out very far...way too far for him to ever help all the starfish. Yet as he picks up each one and tosses it out to sea he is comforted by knowing that he made a difference to one.

Sometimes I am the old man...but often...I am the starfish. This week, I was both.

Me-The Old Man: Initially I forgot something that the old man knows.. the old man only picks starfish stranded in the sand. It annoys starfish already in the water when you try to move them to a new location. Two types of trainings work (here or anywhere), a training where an individual is sent and one in which the person recognizes a deficit and seeks growth. I forgot what the old man knows..and tried to move content starfish. This week however, it was exciting to find one starfish who really wanted help. Her class of 50 (3-5 year olds) was bursting at the seams. She didn't speak the same language as her students and was frustrated. It appeared that she spent more time outside the classroom than in it (who could blame her). While I love behavior modification, it is not something many teachers seem to want to utilize.. but in this case, she was willing for any kind of help. We tried rewarding positive behavior. It worked! The students started prompting each other to be quiet and to watch the teacher. More exciting than the children's reactions was the teacher's. By Friday, she was in the classroom, laughing with her students, trying out new songs and willing to soak up any new teaching suggestions I could offer. HOW COOL!

Me-The Starfish:
In my case, I am the starfish much of the time. I am learning to trust God, and just allow each week to unfold. On a weekly basis there are moments when nothing seems to go right. I panic in the middle, despite knowing that there is almost always a positive ending. I am learning that success can be measured by crunching numbers and analyzing data but it is often measured in much simpler and more beautiful ways. Success is also evident through increasing trust, laugher, and the connections built one person at a time. Next year, if I am lucky enough to return, I will continue to open the door a bit wider and seize every chance to work in the classrooms of many teachers or just offer helpful ideas....and to learn something about myself.