Made it through the first week of school.

I've been out of the school teaching business for 14 years now. My youngest "child" is in 3rd year University. The only real connection that I have to the ebb and flow of the scolastic year is in the school bus's return to pick up the kids next door. Yet every year I still walk through those first few days after Labour Day with a fondness, excitement and sense of relief at the approach of that first Friday which signals the end of the first week.

I've been pondering memories of my own student days, remembering the grade 7 teacher that I had who taught us, literally next to nothing in the entire year, except how to knit a spiral hat much like this one that I found on the net.

Now you can imagine that although she was no Socrates, that woman was to be commended for her attempt to have 30 12 year-old girls of varying levels of dexterity, interest, hormonal upheaval, and ability actually complete what I now recognize to be a relatively intricate pattern. For the first time in my life, I realize what a gift that teacher gave me and how much I learned about math and its relationship to structure in general and the construction of knitting designs in particular, never mind that I spent the year focused on how much work we were avoiding by knitting for a good portion of every day.

Having spent last week touching down mentally into the schoolyards of my past, I was delighted to receive this video link by email from my sister. I have declared it to be my favourite music video of all time (for this week anyway.) Kristin Andreassen's Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes.

I absolutely challenge you to watch it and see if you aren't humming the tune for the rest of the day, feeling a lot more hopeful about the future of our world, and harbouring the coziest memories of wonderful teachers that you have had in your past. (I wanted to run away and join her that grade 2 class).