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Happy New Year!
By Ted Lockery
Sep 13, 2001 -- I'll never forget the moment, 31 years ago, when my brother broke the news to me that there was no certainty that after death we returned to repeat our lives. I was only six years old then and, without having ever heard of reincarnation, was living my carefree days under the core assumption that life would never end. But on that fateful day, my belief system was no match for that of my ten-year-old brother who forever changed my world with the words, "When you're dead, you're dead. That's it."I'd like to think that I've come to terms with the news, or at least gotten over the initial shock of it. But I still find comfort in the rituals of rebirth. The cycle of the seasons is, perhaps, the most obvious reminder that on the other side of the end is a new beginning. Spring, to most people, represents life's triumph over Winter's shroud of death. And the melancholy of fall announces the end of summer and the impending doom of yet another winter.
But that scenario doesn't work for me. September, in my personal orbit of the Sun, marks the start of the new year. Instead of ringing it in with Auld Lang Syne and champagne, I mark the new beginning as many students and parents do this time of year, with the much anticipated trip to the stationery store for fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and the wafting, tactile rubber of an unadulterated PinkPearl eraser.
Instead of watching the ball drop in Times Square to kick off the new year, I track the approach of the first day of school in my academic planner--a calendar that begins with September and has Monday listed as the first day of the week. In my classroom, freshly cleaned and smelling of waxed floors, I enter the names of my new students into my grade book, clearing a space for each on the canvas of my imagination. I eagerly await their arrival, hoping that they, too, are just as eager for a fresh start.
As The Seattle Press gets off to its own fresh start, and as this column enjoys a new life, I eagerly await your participation in it. Please send me your thoughts or questions on topics concerning our schools or concerning education in general. Your stories, your opinions, and your celebrations of what is happening in your or your child's school are most welcome.
To correspond by e-mail, please send messages to: teacherted@seattlepress.com. Letters can be sent to: Teacher Ted, 4128 Fremont Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98103.
Happy New Year!
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