Some coworkers and I have traveled to San Antonio to stay the night in a hotel.  Tomorrow is our convocation – that is a fancy name for first day back to work for teachers.  We will all come together in a conference room or hotel ballroom of some sort and listen to speakers motivate us, tell us how wonderful we are for choosing our profession, how special our kids are, and how unique our school district is because of our mission.

I happen to love these sappy moments of reveling in the greatness that is a room full of teachers gearing up for a new school year.  It feels like a locker room pre-game.  Everyone is excited and talkative, getting pumped up for a win.  The band is warming up, the cheerleaders are doing a dance routine, the crowd is buying snacks and settling into their seats…

Do they still pray before sports games?  They did when I was in school in the south and I always loved the moment an entire crowd grew silent, listening to someone’s plea for safety and sportsmanship, hoping GOD would take the time to drop by for the game.

That is how these things feel to me…almost holy.  Some teachers have confided in me that they hate these events, find them silly, wish money were spent more wisely, feel demeaned by team-building.  I guess I am fodder for the peddling preacher that is a school superintendent.  I want to believe that what we do is holy.  I want to believe that GOD is in my classroom filling the space between outbursts and anger, fear and refusal.  That the kids whose lives will touch mine will be bathed in grace and sent back out into the world nourished…or at least comforted.

I hope every teacher out there preparing for our next batch of kids gets the chance to feel encouraged, valued, and inspired at their convocation.  It is a uniquely teacher-y thing that I for one am glad exists.