Keep on Keeping On, by Rafe Esquith

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I receive lots of mail. Yesterday I read a letter from a passionate and talented young teacher who had visited my room a year ago. He is in his first year of teaching and incredibly discouraged.

I come home tired and frustrated, and to be honest, I sometimes think about quitting. I'm sure, Rafe, that you have had your own share of aggravations in a lengthy career in education. But I never saw that for a moment in your class at Hobart; each moment was filled with joy. How do you prevent any of that negative energy from breaching the walls of Room 56?

I feel discouraged practically every day. I was quite sad yesterday. It was Saturday morning, normally one of my favorite days of the week. This is the day when about 60 former students, grades 6-9, return to my classroom to continue their studies. The kids are amazing. They study Shakespeare, algebra, and college prep tests. These young people are hungry, kind, and hard working. The school is completely empty, and on these days Room 56 is the closest thing to Utopia I have ever discovered.

But I lost two kids yesterday and it is very discouraging.

Rebecca cannot come anymore on Saturdays. She wrote me a heartbreaking letter about severe family problems she has. She desperately wants to remain with her friends, but a terrible situation is preventing her from doing so. I am completely powerless to help her and I am losing sleep over it. I tell myself that Rebecca is so wonderful that she will come out of this and succeed. But I have to be honest with myself. It hurts to see her pain and not be able to provide the comfort she needs.

Eddie has disappeared. Just two months ago I helped him receive a $100,000 scholarship to an elite private school. Eddie is a warm, gentle, and bright young man. He often initiated long conversations with me about his goals and dreams. He was thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity that had been given him. I paid for his application and test fees to enter the school. His mother was grateful. He was set. And suddenly Eddie has stopped coming on Saturdays. He has been seen by some of his friends, but has decided to remain at his horrible middle school and not study on Saturdays anymore. He has not contacted me.

Like all teachers, it's days like these when I feel useless.

How do I stay positive? I remember the advice of Coach John Wooden. He tells the story of a coach who called him for advice. This coach's team had many injuries, and he began the conversation by telling Coach Wooden about all the players who would not be available to play in the game. Wooden stopped him and told him only to focus on the players he had, and work with them. There was no point spending energy discussing athletes who were not healthy enough to suit up.

Saturday morning I was sad inside. Yet Room 56 was filled with students who laughed through The Comedy of Errors, studied the characteristics of quadrilaterals, and studied SAT vocabulary words. They were a sight to behold.

Around noon, one of my current 5^th graders stopped by as the class ended. Rachel is applying for a special school next year, and showed me the essay she had written. It had several mistakes, but was honest, hopeful, and full of the integrity I try so hard to instill in the children. I made some suggestions, received a genuine thank you, and watched her skip out of the room to return home to finish the application and try to build a better future.

That's how I stay positive. For every failure, there is another child waiting to succeed. She deserves my best effort.

View more information on Rafe Esquith's Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire

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