“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

Gail Devers

I am retired now, but I was reflecting on my days as a 4th grade teacher. One of the most rewarding things I did with my new students on the first day was to have them write down something they could teach me. I told them I know that I can learn from you, just like you can learn from me. It was an amazing activity. It was a way to build an instant relationship with my students and show them I cared about them as a person. It helped me to understand where they were coming from and what was important to them. I believe it built their confidence and improved their self respect. Not to my surprise, I learned new card games, tricks, and many more things. They taught me to do some physical things like throw a football and do backflips, the latter is one that I never accomplished.