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I’ll be returning to work tomorrow, and soon the students will return and it will be the 2015-2016 school year. I really do not know where the time went, from when I was a student to being a teacher. Then again, I don’t think I ever left the classroom. I am still student to this day. Everyday I am learning something new, unique, and inspiring. It’s almost like returning home.

The one thing about this home is that you never know who is going to come into your life. Every school year, I see so many returning students interact with others, who they never communicated with before. It is so inspiring to see something like this, because for me as a teacher, I want my students to become life-long friends.

So in regards to learning and continuing to achieve something that is inspiring, here's another assignment for you. Read the story below by John Schlatter. It’s a powerful story that reminds us of how our friends can bring so much joy into our lives. It also reminds us the concept of “home” that is in our hearts. It is an idea of nostalgia, where we allow people to be apart of our lives. After reading the story, go ahead and listen to Andy Grammer’s “Back Home.”

Enclosing, when everything seems to be challenging for you, just try to take a step back and breathe. Remember that when you return home, you’re returning to people that love you. So spread the love to your family, friends, your spouse, your students, and to everyone in your life.

Enjoy the story!

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder.

Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school.
They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill.


“You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life.”



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