Most Curious

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

- Dorothy Parker

Absolutely LOVE this quote - it's so true. And, quite frankly, curiosity needs no cure. Rather, it is something to be encouraged and spread. For curiosity sparks creativity. And creativity sparks...well, you get the idea.

I know there are a lot of things in the classroom that I still need LOTS of practice in to "get right," but I think one thing I have been particularly consistent about is setting students' minds on fire with curiosity and creativity. (And that's probably largely due to the fact that I am one of the most curious people I know. That's not to say I'm not creative, but I happen to know a lot of people who are just as, if not more, creative than I am.)

A gentle reminder of this came across my Facebook wall today - it was a short message from a parent of one of my students last year. I won't relay it all to you here, but here's the main (directed) part of the message:

"...Ms. Foyle, I can't say enough - you encouraged my daughter's creativity and really let her grow - you were incredible..."

The message went on as a general one to all of her daughter's teachers as a note of thanks on National Teacher Appreciation Day.

For me, teaching has been and will always be more than test scores. (Although, it's also reassuring when those come back highly positive too - as ours did this year - woo hoo! But, honestly, scores are secondary.) Our students need to be challenged to stretch their limits, think critically, and just have some fun - because that's when they'll learn the most and that's what they'll remember the best.

I am so thankful to have (at least most days) one of the best jobs in the world. It's such a blessing year after year to have students entrusted to my care and to foster their growth academically, socially, and spiritually throughout the course of a school year.

And that, my friends, is worth more than all the treasure in the world.