Giving thanks

I've always said that my kids (students) are naturally brilliant. I don't think they understand what I mean. Maybe they think I'm just joking.
I mean what I said: my kids are naturally brilliant.
On Friday the 20th my Group D students had a serious talk with me. The conversation was an example of what I want from my students: led by the students themselves. I just facilitated the conversation by trying to figure out who should speak next. Eventually, the kids took that over by writing and crossing off names on the overhead themselves. I think they got a good idea of why it is important to take turns and how difficult it can be to be fair in deciding who gets to speak next.
The students displayed courage and trust by telling me how they feel based on what teachers say and do. They also gave me some insight into how their families feel about their education.
I'm not going into detail because the kids shared some very personal stories with me. All I feel comfortable blogging about is that I now have some very difficult questions to guide me when I teach. First, what is success? Second, how much should parents be involved in their kids' educations? I think educators everywhere have struggled with these questions forever--or at least, I hope so! These questions are examples of what makes teaching an art form. There are no pat answers; we have to figure out what our students need. It's different for each kid, so if teachers somehow figure it out for one kid or one class, replicating it with others isn't really likely to work.
To all my students, please know that I am thankful for and proud of you. You guys are wiser than you think.