Monday, May 11, 2015

"The future destiny of a child is always the work of the mother."- Napoleon Bonaparte

And so another Mother's Day is here.  For many, this is a day of great joy, and it should be. Procreating life and perpetuating one's name is an unbelievable gift!  Wearing the title of Mother is so wonderful. Congratulations and a wonderful day to all of you!  

But for those women who do not have children, whether by choice or not, it can be a sad day. 

I do not have any children, and many of my female teacher colleagues did/do not have children.  However, I choose to think of Mother's Day as a wonderful day to think about all of the students I had in class: in the musicals, in the talent shows, and on the golf teams for the 37 years I taught school. Indeed, I did have the great opportunity to be the surrogate mother more times than I could have ever imagined!  I believe that if I really think about it and weigh all of the times I taught a boy how to tie a tie, my total is probably around 300 boys. I think if I count all the girls I taught how to apply stage make-up, mascara, lipstick, or eyeliner, my total is around 500. If we move on to bows and bow ties, add another 600-800. And those are just some practical knowledge shares, which do not even include the shaping of character and morals. 

Of course, the reason for this blog is simple: whether or not you are a mom, in some way you have contributed to the well-being of a young person.  Female teachers know this to be especially true.   No matter what your age when you begin your career, you are instantly "Mom" to many of your students.  Guess what?  That is a magnificent thing in itself!  Helping to guide young people, regardless of age, is always the correct thing to do.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there - and all of the "teacher moms" as well!  I am so know that your caring, time, advice, and influence will ripple for years to come.

Rittman Publishing, LLC

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

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Dede's book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER, has won a fifth award! 
http://www.sanfranciscobookfestival.com/winners_2015.htm 









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