Most of the time, I don't mind helping my students push through their teenage lives as they figure out who they want to be and what they are really capable of. But sometimes I wish I were less aware of their world, and I definitely wish I were less impacted by it. Some of them do, say, and think things that sadden me, and even terrify me at times. And even some of the "good kids" don't understand the value of kindness, respect, self-respect, humility, privacy, loyalty, trust, responsibility, grace, or gratefulness; they just fake it better than the rest. My heart breaks a little every time I learn what they're really like. I wish they could see themselves the way I believe they could be. And I hope it doesn't sound selfish, but I'm so worn down from trying to teach these things to people who are practically adults--Teachers can't change a lifetime of habits for every single kid. I'm told that some teachers just want to teach their subject matter ...
"Music is the silence between the notes." ~Claude Debussy