...may the sun shine warm upon your face...

What do you say to someone as you ride heroically into the sunset? "Remember this face. You are looking at the first multi-millionaire substitute teacher." The one piece of advice I could seriously offer to my replacement would be to try your best to stay positive (ALL THE TIME) and embrace creativity. Some of the best video I've seen has come from students who, when pitching the original idea, weren't very clear about what they were trying to do. I try to remember that the best ideas don't always come from excel sheets or storyboards and they aren't always written neatly or typed up and placed under a neatly organized cover sheet. Teaching is a messy business and if you aren't willing to get your hands, feet and sometimes everything else DIRTY, you might miss the everyday victories that make teaching an enjoyable profession. If you can stay positive (stay out of the teacher's lounge) and keep an open mind to new ideas from your students, you may be surprised what's already out there waiting for you. Many of the students are literally bursting with new ideas - some better than others. But, isn't the fact that a student is brave enough to blurt out her/his "crazy" idea in front of their peers refreshing? In high school, everyone seems to follow everyone else...all the latest trends, fashions, etc., are simply copy and pasted from one child to the next. Then, someone raises their hand, opens their mouth and an original idea comes out! If you are sitting at the desk clicking through your "expertly designed" powerpoint and droning on for an hour and a half at a time, you might miss it.