Our book club book this month is Becoming by Michelle Obama. I have been listening to the book on audible with my husband as we go for walks in the cold; finding paths which do not have too much traffic so we can hear the story unfold.
The problem with audible sometimes is that for me, I have come to use Booksnaps to annotate ideas and with audible, I listen but can’t capture the words (and my memory since my concussion is awful!).
So many parts of the book resonate, but what made me stop and rewind yesterday was hearing Michelle Obama reflect on her success and attribute it to what she calls, her “meaningful constellation”:
“My boosters. My believers. My own personal gospel choir singing yes, kid you got this.”
This understanding led her to acknowledge that not enough people have a personal constellation and that she felt it a moral obligation to pay it forward; to ensure she could be a part of that meaningful constellation for others.
When I reflect upon my own personal constellation, I have so much for which to be grateful. In my life I have had mentors and friends who have believed in me, have propelled me to be better and do better and who have accepted me and shown me grace in my failures and mistakes. I have a strong family support who are my foundation when things feel like they are crumbling around me.
As teachers, the work we do every day propels us into the constellation of our colleagues and students. We can choose to be a shining star there: a booster, believer, and personal choir singer or not.
I recently got a very beautiful email from a student made me recognize the magnitude my impact can have. It made me weep with gratitude and joy.
I try very hard to create a positive culture in the Library Learning Commons. I try to greet people by name (although like I said, I have a terrible memory, so this is super hard some days), I try to create opportunities for students to learn, read, to create, to play, and to be kind to one another. And as much as I try, I am sometimes plagued by self-doubt. Am I really making a difference?
My student’s email surprised me because I didn’t necessarily think I impacted her at all. She is a part of the book club and the coding club and I see her regularly as she picks up a Chromebook to use for the day. She is quiet and helpful and a gem of a person who people may not know because of her reserved demeanour. I really had no idea that I would have impacted her in any way. Her email to me was startling and beautiful and really made me think that being in the personal constellation of every child we serve is something we need to remember. Our actions; intentional or not have an impact.
What will we do?
