Seasons Greetings
By Carol Feldhaus
President, Farmingdale Federation of Teachers
Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year's...'tis the season for feasting and celebration, giving and receiving, reaching out with love to everyone in our family.
When you think about it, we have many families. Most Farmingdale teachers count among our "family members" not just relatives, but colleagues, brother and sister professionals, and the children we teach every day. All of them are embraced in the warmth, reflection, peace and joy of the holiday season.
As we take a few moments to consider the calendar year ending and the New Year that is about to begin, let us reflect about the meaning that families have in our lives and why it is so important to maintain and strengthen these ties.
Our relatives share with us the bond of blood, of a common heritage and family secrets and inside jokes that nobody else appreciates. A phrase, a special dish prepared for the holiday meal, sometimes even the crazy tie that appears year after year, all have special meaning for us. We treasure them because no other family shares exactly the same treasured memories. They belong to ourselves alone.
It's the same with our extended family of colleagues. We share a history together - the funny things that happened years ago, the hardships we were able to endure a little bit better, comforted by those who share our workplace. We can appreciate the hard work that can make a real difference, we savor the warm glow that comes from teaching and working with children.
We also have another extended family, the children we have taught. The noise, the chattering - the everyday joys and sorrows of "our kids" seem to fill each day with special meaning. We remember their faces, brows wrinkled in concentration, as they struggle to pronounce difficult words, figure tough math problems, make a discovery in science. What could be more fulfilling than watching the shock and delight of recognition when the lesson, at long last, sinks home.
When they leave our classes, some of these children we will never see again. Others will return, often for years, to renew that special bond. We'll run into some working as doctors, lawyers or teachers. Some will own their own businesses and some will return to Farmingdale to raise their families. Meeting them as adults, we can share recollections of their particular class, special times, difficult times and the times we all laughed together. Each student we teach is inextricably woven into the fabric of our lives - strands in a rich and complex tweed. We share them with parents and with colleagues, but we hold them in our hearts forever.
So as we come to the holiday table, as we reflect on the events of the year gone by and the year to come, let's all of us share the peace and joy of the season with all of our families. They make life worth living.
