finally made it home to peoria. yay! i drove home and dropped erin off on the way... she had to reassure her students that, yes, she was coming back from st. louis, and, no, she wasn't deserting them mid-way through the semester. it's so sad that they have that need for reassurance. makes me wonder, constantly, what kind of people could ever deliberately walk away from these kids. they're so vivaciously lovable that they make me want to take them all home with me. i'm listening to "i shall believe" by sheryl crow, and i keep thinking about the lines "please say honestly you won't give up on me... i shall believe." really, that's what our kids need to know - that we won't give up on them and that we'll stick. but what have we done? we've given a two-year commitment. most of us won't be around to teach their brothers and sisters. they won't have that continuity, that sense of community that comes with having the same teachers and administrators from generation to generation. we're just a short-term solution to a long-term problem. any solutions? time to start thinking. my students are at once simple and complex, loving and indifferent... they are every shade of every personality from one moment to the next, and they are fabulous. so sayeth the carey. ask me again in a week when we're back together... =)