CFS and Me: an update

 

a last year with the students

for roughly ⅔ of my life

I have poured myself into Carolina Friends School,

its vision, our vision, inextricably intertwined deeply with me,

much of who I am also who we are,

and now it's time to disengage,

to let another see the flame of the students,

to celebrate it, to feed it,

to help the fire of self come into its power,

to find the way to let its light shine,

for each self to slough off hesitancy,

and for each to be standing high,

triumphant with self-belief,

released from the shackles that all of us must discard

to become who we are at our best,

these days I celebrate that I still can see my students,

know them a bit, appreciate them a lot,

and help them throw off the short circuits

that whisper self-doubt at them,

I take pictures of our students

and hope to snap the picture only when

their eyes open enough to let the self glimpse out,

each photo a metaphor of who I hope to be as  a teacher,

next year I hope for more time for myself,

I will still work with CFS to celebrate its journey

and to celebrate all the students

with whom we have been gifted,

I look forward to the new staff

who will carry the school forward

and help each student shine brightly.

by Henry H. Walker

September 27, ‘23