Great thought today

So it's Friday and today was a little loosey-goosey at work. Ok, I'll admit it, I had very little planned to do with the children. I thought I'd take a page from those great teachers everyone loves and just see what happens. It was a good day. Long, but good.

So I was reading a great story from my youth... Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. I haven't picked this up, since, well, I was in school, I guess. But I always loved Judy Blume books, so this has become a class read aloud. Today, our hero, Peter Hatcher, was enduring a 3 year old birthday party for his brother, Fudge. And he made a very insightful comment. He was waxing poetic after a scolding by his mother about calling his brother Fang (after an unfortunate fall) and he commented "Nobody can stop me from thinking. My mind is my own." It struck me, as I was reading to a class of 3rd graders,that I might have forgotten this fact somewhere along the way. And it also struck me that these students might never have heard that the act of thinking is personal, and interesting, and powerful. That "doing" isn't the only thing they are capable of. I hope that I can share the power of thought with them this year. Their minds are growing and reaching the ability to have deeper, more global and complex ideas. I am excited about being a part of that in their lives.

That is my major deep thought for the day. I don't get one very often, so I thought I'd share it. :)