Love Songs

A recent poll named the top “Love Songs” of all time.  Here’s the deal -  you have to either sing or dance to one of these songs on Saturday.  Saturday?  Yes, fellas – Saturday is Valentine’s Day so consider yourself warned. DO NOT BLOW IT!  Back to the songs- here you go: I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles, Best of My Love by The Emotions, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, How Deep is Your Love? by the Bee Gees, and Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross.  In my opinion, this poll missed a few. How about When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge or Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton?  How about Your Song by Elton John or Three Times A Lady by The Commodores? What about You are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker or Colour My World by Chicago?  The latter was the first slow dance that my wife and I danced to when we were 17 and 18 and would not hesitate to do so today and will definitely do so on Saturday…when she gets home from birthing babies all day.  So, go ahead – surprise your spouse or significant other with a song.  They’ll never forget it and neither will you.

What are the top five “Love Songs” about your teaching career?  What are those moments that you hold special?  You know, the ones you go back to when you need that boost. The days when you think you are not making a difference at all.  Those days when you feel like the bug and not the windshield.  These are different things to different people.  Maybe it’s the kid that you finally connected with.  Maybe it’s the card that you received from a parent, or better yet, from a student that stated how grateful they were to have you in their life.  Maybe it’s that day when every single one of your students scored at the mastery level on a summative assessment.  Maybe it’s the kid that modeled the same positive behavior that you modeled for him. Maybe it is that kid who finally got out of the wheelchair and took his or her first steps.  Maybe it’s the former student who called you up to tell you that you made a difference in their life and while you were tough on them at the time, they finally get what you were trying to do.  Think on these things. Cherish the good more than looking at the not so good.  Hold dear to those lasting impressions that will help you through those days when plans A, B, C, and D just aren’t paying off. Remember that you are making memories for someone every single day including yourself.  Happy Valentine’s Day!