Rays of Hope
By Nola Milligan, English teacher
I am an optimist by nature, but over the past month, the lack of sunshine, the dense fog, and the bleak budgetary outlook have taken their toll. I have found myself sighing more and laughing less. As I’ve looked around the high school, I’ve noticed that I am not the only one affected. The poet Robert Browning wrote “April is the cruelest month,” but I think this January may steal that epitaph away from April, which right now looks pretty good to me.
January has always been a time for me to reflect back and look ahead with hope. I often tell my students on gloomy days that they will have to carry the sunshine within themselves. I see them as rays of hope for the days ahead.
At the beginning of the school year, we administered the MAP test that measures reading, math, and science. In December we measured again and noticed that a majority of students scored higher, and some rather significantly higher in reading. Prior to the testing, I had handed out their previous scores and talked about setting a goal to achieve a higher score, to show us what they know. I felt there was a concerted effort to show improvement. A ray of sunshine!
The very last day of school before our winter break, I travelled with sophomores and freshmen to the Salvation Army in Topeka where our students readily took on whatever task they were given to make someone else’s holiday a better one. Our students were courteous, helpful, and caring. A ray of sunshine!
As we move towards state assessments in March, the staff has arranged to work with students to help improve scores in number of ways. Currently, there are tutoring sessions in reading and math for those who will be tested. Closer to test time, a science review will be put into place. Those students we have chosen to work with understand that we want to work together to help them succeed, and I have seen a diligence on their part to meet the challenge. A ray of sunshine!
I see so much potential in the students I spend my days with. They are the future, and I am not afraid for I have walked beside them and know they are those rays of sunshine, those rays of hope in the grey of winter.
