I am a reformed middle school English/history/drama teacher of 30 years who is tumbling into a transitional third chapter of 30 more years doing who knows what. I've put off the acceptance of my retirement for a few months since June 13, my last day working for the Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon. As the August air slightly shifted toward crisper nights two days ago, and school supply smells jumped out of Sunday newspaper ads this morning at 5:30 A.M. I faced reality. Okay, I recently had a few teacher dreams too. They probably were the of the out-of-control genre where unruly adolescents are sharpening their fingers in the pencil sharpener or sexting their friends. I really can't remember. More than likely, I was going over the classroom rules on an overhead wishing that I had a Smart Board like the weatherpeople on the Channel 5.
The time has come to travel for peace. I will carry the orginally designed butterfly peace quilt wherever I am invited. I will tell the story of adolescents researching the U.S. Nobel Peace Laureates and then internalizing their own individual ways of becoming peacemakers. I will tell about their teaching peace to classrooms of first, second, third and fourth graders and to parents, siblings, grandparents, and other adults. These sixth graders commissioned the quilt from a fabric artist for $30.00 in pennies. I will simply spread the visions of peace they adopted and taught and sent to Oprah Winfrey in postcard form. Oprah's P.O. Box is still receiving postcards for peace. 1,000,000 is the goal. I will pack my carpet bag with that peace quilt to travel around the world in 80 days. In my mind at least. I like metaphors and teachers exaggeate. But, I did promise the kids.
