A Rose Garden

Many years ago (1980), I was repairing the roof of a garden shed. The shed belonged to a local minister. The good reverend had a beautiful flower garden. He spent hours tending to his roses. His yard was a rainbow of colors and the air was wet with the fragrance of his work.

The good reverend did not always see the beauty of his work. When complimented, he would point out the blight he was fighting or that his new hybrid was not rooting. His only focus was working to grow the best roses possible. He could only see the work left to be done. My dad said that the good reverend stood to close to his flowers to see the beauty of his garden.

Rose gardeners and educators have a lot in common. We constantly toil trying to grow a life a little better. We worry about each individual flower in our classroom garden. We fight the blight and lack of nourishment. Gardening and teaching are acts of love and hope. We toil hoping to see the beauty in our work. My dad might be right. Like rose gardeners, sometimes we stand to close to the flowers to see the beauty of the garden.

Take a moment today. Stand back from the flowers and see the garden in your classroom. I am sure that the garden is truly more beautiful today than it was the first days of September. We are beginning to see the sprouts of hope blossoming in our promising students.

Your garden is more important than test scores. Gardeners plant for a season. Educators may not see the beauty of their toil for a generation. You nurture a garden of life long learners. Never doubt that you are planting seeds of change. Never doubt that someday your toil will be rewarded. Teaching is about hope. We are more valuable than a test score. We plant a garden to last for generations.

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