Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Take Each Step With Care

The following reflection was written by Hailey Dellinger, one of four recipients of our See Beautiful Scholarships!

Hailey, today we celebrate you and the way you're seeing beautiful!

by Hailey Dellinger

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you'll move mountains.” Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! This special quote unfolds the beauty of my passion and commitment to teaching children. Through my experience thus far with interning, I have begun to push and maneuver my own mountains of my own personal philosophy on teaching that embodies my beliefs, which could not have been done without children showing me how. I believe you cannot simply create beauty in the world for yourself or others if you can’t see it in your everyday life. You may step with care and great tact, but like Dr. Seuss said life is a great balancing act.

As an aspiring teacher, I have learned to see the beauty in each child’s step within the classroom. If I overlooked the missteps in the journey with my students, I would never be able to see the beauty in how they found balance whether it be with academics, relationships, speaking in front of a large group for the first time, sharing a personal story, showing confidence in reading, or just a smile. Uniqueness can be overlooked and I have seen the beauty in children being retrained or going unnoticed. I am empowered by showing constant compassion to students and valuing each child’s uniqueness. You should be unleashing magnificence through creativity, innovativeness, support, communication, patience, exploration, awareness of needs, and a deep desire to uphold their beauty in all of it.

“Recognizing isn't at all like seeing; the two often don't even agree,” said Sten Nadolny. I do not want to just recognize children’s talents, misbehaviors, good days, bad days, accomplishments, love, strengths, weaknesses, and battles; I want to see beauty in all of it and love them for that. Attitude and perception is a great factor in seeing and creating beauty. Many people have the same dreams like me, who are trying to become teachers, but I want to lay down a foundation for myself that is something bigger that I can imagine. I want to see the beauty in moving mountains not only for myself, but in children each day. For me, I could not see beauty without God’s unconditional love. He has given me the strength to accomplish my dreams of teaching children and loving the missteps on the way. 

Albus Dumbledore one said, “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Since I was a child, this quote has stuck with me and I now see that this talks about seeing the wonders of life and enlightening yourself with beauty. Turn on “the light” when a child walks into class on the first day of school, when a student comes to you for help, when a child is struggling at home, when a child goes to pick up a book, and when a child needs a helping hand. I always need to remember to keep my light turned on, or I may miss some beauty. 
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3 comments:

  1. Hailey is creating and "turning on" a whole lot of beautiful. Congratulations to her!!

    Blessings,
    Goose

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  2. This is beautiful, Hailey! I, too, work hard on remembering to turn on the light in every situation. Congratulations to you!

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  3. Congratulations, Hailey! - love the phrase to turn on the light!

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts & helping others see beautiful too!