This is the last post of the semester. I envisioned a long reflection about the magic of learning and of doing our best, but I have to say that I don't have it in me to write such an entry. I'm tired and worn. I wanted to you to do another three notebook entries or so but I'm choosing not to do so. Instead, I am asking for one reflection about the semester. Tell me how you are doing, what worked for you in my class, and what you think I should change for next time. Take your time with the reflection. I will read them carefully.
Over and over again I have told my friends how I have enjoyed teaching this semester. It has felt healing and good. I came to this term very wounded. Over the past year I had a very rough time at MDC; work felt very dissatisfying. On top of that, I lost my mom over the summer and came into the term mourning. Beyond that, my family and I have been taking care of my father-in-law while he's in hospice and preparing to die.
So I thank you for allowing me to be your teacher. Thank you for working as hard as you have on your papers, for pouring your hearts in the "Who Are You" essays and in the difficult topics of the second essay. Every word I read that came deep from the broken hearts of personal experience, reminded me that we are one family, even if we don't know each other all that well.
Please believe what I have said over and over again this term. Our voices and experiences are precious and important. As we learn to give them their proper recognition and honor, we move toward a freedom and a possibility that is hard to describe and impossible to control. This freedom is at the heart of a true education, one that liberates us from the bondage of our own small desires and sets us in the open space of understanding, love, and service to others.
Remember that we will not meet in class this week and I will collect notebooks on Monday, December 10th.
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