Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Candle Loses Nothing

One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou. It says, "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." To me that is the essence of teaching.

I am lucky enough to be teaching knitting classes at a local yarn store. I absolutely love it. This is teaching at its best for me.

(I have been out of the classroom for 20 years now. I loved the kids, and the "lightbulb going off" moments, but the paperwork and bad attitudes on the part of many left me cold. It all got in the way. I miss the good stuff. A lot. I don't miss the bad stuff. At all.)

This new opportunity just invigorates me. I couldn't love it more. The students actually want to be there, and they learn so quickly. Best of all, they appreciate their teacher and what they are learning. I love that.

Little do they know that I appreciate them even more. They are giving me gifts that they aren't even aware of. I am so grateful.