Yesterday my niece Allissa texted me the poem she had just hung in her new classroom. Do you remember sending me this? she wrote. Indeed I do. It’s a poem I sent to her when she began teaching kindergarten a few years back. STRAIGHT LINE , by the magical Georgia Heard, breaks my heart every time I read it. And I can’t help feeling its truth deeply when I am on some school campuses and see it lived out in real time.

Tuesday was the first day of school here and I was lucky enough to be on several campuses, watching the students arrive. Sheer joy was evident everywhere. Eagerness. Excitement. Promise.

Learning is joyful and noisy and messy –  and kids bring their whole selves to the classroom. I hope they don’t have to leave the best part of themselves at the classroom door.