Little Lives Fortunate to Reach 50 (If They Wee Lucky_. I Grew Up in a Very Different World, And I'm Sure We Scattered Away from CNY Like Sparklers

I remember her name: Misses Saladino (salad + Dino from the Flinstones). I was five years old, living in Clarks Mills, NY, and attending Westmoreland Elementary. This, of course, was before moving to Clay and living the rest of my K-12 education in North Syracuse Public Schools. It was school, but it was a location away from home for learning, being, growing up, gaining tools for the future, and with little fear, other than the impishness of adolescent development and its schemes, and staying on top of the homework. The worries were simple: who would go outside and play after school, how far can we go on our bikes without getting caught, can we have sleepovers, and will we make it through the challenges of incessant homework?

It's funny to look at this picture now, as I remember a name and her kindness, playing with big blocks in the room, but also being pulled to the kitchen are to play 'the husband' from time to time. I have no names of the other children to remember, and zero connection of who they became or where they are now, but it was a safe, generous spot to begin my learning.

This Friday, I'm working with 200 8th graders and I've been going through pictures to create a lineage of hope: that is, the stories that brought me into the human being I am today. I'm trying to put myself into the minds of kids budding upon high school, knowing that in NSPS, 8th and 9th grained were put together in a junior high. The high school was for 10th-12th. It probably was/is a brilliant decision made by district planners. I don't think I know of anyone who thought 8th & 9th grade was a good time. I do remember, though, that 10th grade was the last year of childhood, before we began getting licenses, having jobs, and learning to plan financially and intellectually. Junior High was a land of insanity, really. I wasn't perfect, but somehow I made it through mildly harmed, and with a mission to take school seriously.

I was lucky. 

And there's little to no chance to thank Ms. Saldino for teaching me the beginning stages of how schools operate and for hosting a space of joy, discovery, and purpose. She is one of many teachers I encountered in my life that invested in me and the students around me, and for this I am thankful. Just snapshots of memories, but they're important.

For all teachers who invest their lives into the young people they teach. They are true heroes. Always have been and always will be.