Thoughtful Thursday
- Catherine Addor
- Jul 17
- 1 min read
"I am out with lanterns, looking for myself." – Emily Dickinson.
There is something hauntingly beautiful about this line. A quiet urgency. A sense of seeking; not just answers, but identity, purpose, belonging.
Our students are out with lanterns, too.
Lanterns lit by curiosity, by wonder, by resilience. But these flames are fragile. They flicker in the wind of doubt, burnout, inequity, and disconnection.
Our job isn’t to carry the lantern for them.
It’s to make sure their flame doesn’t go out.
To guard it from the storm.
To teach them how to refuel it with hope, with joy, with the tools to navigate a complicated world.
We do that by:
Seeing the child beyond the data
Designing learning that honors voice and choice
Making room for reflection, creativity, and stillness
Giving feedback that grows, not grades that define
Showing students they are not lost, they are becoming
Let this be the week we ask:
What am I doing to help my students keep their lanterns lit?
In the dark corners of adolescence, of struggle, of transition, that flame matters.
The most lasting learning we offer may not be what we teach, but how we walk alongside them as they discover who they are becoming.
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