Oxley's World

Teaching is Always Uphill

Yesterday,  I stood symbolically with my staff with our backs loaded down with the burdens of starting a school year.  We stared at the map outlining the uphill journey ahead of us.   We knew that our only option was to carry those burdens up the hill as we guide children towards the summit of success.

Teaching is always an uphill journey.   There are no flat plateaus or sloping winding descents.  Always climbing,  teachers push on through storms and debris focused on the mission of changing lives.   On the best days,  the teaching journey is an uplifting, joyous struggle.  I must admit that  I stood at the edge of the uphill journey and asked how many more of these ascents do I have in me.   At that moment,  the clouds cleared.   A beam of light called a Facebook message brightened the horizon and gave me a glimpse of the amazing summit that awaits us as we guide our students up the ascent.

A message from a man in his late thirties that I once knew as a 7-year-old in 1986 named Ian.   In August of 1986,  I was overwhelmed.   I was about to greet 26-second grade students.   I felt burdened by their high needs and how to grow them at least an academic year.   I was feeling stressed.

Ian was a kid with lots of hair,  lightening blue eyes, and the activity level of a tiger cub.   Ian was one of 26 students that filled my days as I took one step forward each day.  As a second year teacher,  I began to learn about a boy named Ian.

I learned that that Ian loved his mom and missed this dad.  I learned that his young single mom would sacrifice for her son’s needs.  She would turn to me for guidance, and I was just a young teacher.  I would learn that his innate inquisitive nature would transform him into a enthused learner.   Ian was one of my 26-second grade students that I was helping ascend the hill of success.

Yesterday,  I read a simple Facebook message that made the burdens seem less heavy and the journey ahead less daunting.   The Facebook message said:

Ian:   My Name is Ian (Last Name).   If you are the Rick Oxley that taught second grade at Hawthorne Elementary,   I was your student in 1986.   I just want to thank you for inspiring my passion for mathematics.

I stood still.  I could not move, but I could feel my burdens lighten.  Ian,  a child of a single parent, is a married dad of two.   Ian, a child of the working class, is a middle class professional.   Ian, the high energy kid, is an engineer with a Ph.D.    I can see clearly the summit of the uphill journey.

Somewhere in all of our classrooms is a boy or a girl like Ian.  A child, we will inspire,  a child, we will nurture, and a life that we will change.  A child, we will guide up the hill that awaits for us to climb.

Set down your burdens for a moment and stare out at the horizon.  Someday, a child in your classroom today will send back a message through time.   The child, now an adult,  will simply say thank you because you nurtured them to the summit of success.  You inspired a child.  You mattered!

I don’t know about you.  I know the path ahead is rocky and uphill.   I know it will rain, and I will be walking into the wind.   Again this year,  I am willing to face the wind and rain and walk the uphill path that we call teaching just based on a simple hope that I will make a difference in the life of a child.  Hope never disappoints.  Will you face the wind and climb the hill based on the hope that the journey is worth it?