September is a glorious month of harvest, mums, apples, cider, and cool sleeping weather. During the early morning hours of September 1 - the day my classes started - a waning moon cast moonlight through my open bedroom window. A lone cricket chirped outside in the grass. The sweet scent of a freshly mown lawn wafted in on the cool air.
A few hours later, students strolled or strode into my classroom. They carried backpacks, phones, tablets, laptops, and water bottles or coffee cups. I welcomed everyone, and we began the task of getting to know one another. We'll spend the next fifteen weeks writing and learning each other's stories. We'll read essays and laugh and joke and be serious when seriousness is called for and be sad if it's time to be sad. We'll discuss the values and contemporary issues of our time. We'll think and agree and often agree to disagree.
In public speaking, students will slowly shed their fear like an old skin. They'll learn about speaking outlines, visual aids, analyzing their audience, ethics, and the art of speaking behind a podium and in front of it. They'll speak to us of places they've traveled or places they dream of visiting after graduation. Many will wait until much later when they're carrying a fledgling career in their back pocket and perhaps a toddler in their arms. I'll hear about their hobbies and their families and their goals. I'll admire photographs of nieces and nephews, sons and daughters, cats and dogs, and the occasional prized car or motorcycle.
The possibilities remain endless and exciting, and I savor the diversity. It's an honor to hear students speak about what is important to them in life. I'm left longing to know the rest of their story as time unspools the ribbon of our lives. I content myself with the memories I'll carry and wonder about during my morning walks. Each week, through the processes of writing essays and speeches, we'll examine and celebrate our commonalities and differences. Both enable us to learn and grow together and enhance our living.
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