Inspiration. I search for it the same time each year. We learned word derivations in our professional development yesterday. Spirare is a derivative of the Latin word (inspiriare). In Italian, it means to breathe. To be inspired, means to move something forward. Maybe, with a breath and a new perspective, we can find our inspiration.

I remember the premier of  We are the World. My inspiration became an obsession. But seriously, who wasn’t moved by this group of artists?

I was inspired by my nine-year old over the break. On her Santa list, she asked for Santa to provide shoes for all the orphans in the world. Her altruism broke my stride. Especially, since I had been searching for my DSW coupons. I did a bit of research and found the soles4souls organization. This inspired me. I have too many shoes.

http://www.soles4souls.org/

My daughter and her friends were playing the other day. This was their conversation:

“I wish we could just trade things so people wouldn’t worry about having money.”

“Does that mean we wouldn’t go to school?”

“No, we would still go to school to learn how to make the  things we trade.”

I wanted to blog about it, but I had lost my inspiration. So, I turned on the t.v. I realized that I don’t watch t.v. anymore. I don’t even care about The Bachelor. They all break up in the end, so why watch? And after Cloris Leachman’s season on Dancing with the Stars, I stopped caring about them too.

Yesterday was a teacher workday. We prepared for the second half of the school year. I retreated to my subzero classroom and hid in my Inuit coat.

Computer on. Cursor blinking. Blank mind. I put my head on my desk and lapsed into some type of teacher coma. My neighbor walked by to say goodbye and leave for the day. It was one of those days where I felt I had done it all before. I was out of ideas again.

What can I do for the next five months that will change the world?

Finally, I decided that my 1st grade gifted class was going to create a culture. A while ago, I blogged about a global awareness project. One that will change the path of all my students. They will talk about this project at holiday gatherings. It will become a family oral history. At the very least, they might understand that there are other cultures, languages, traditions, and beliefs. We will name our culture. Culture Club? No. That won’t work.

I will need to teach culture before they can create their own. Right? But what can I do to inspire the kids to always think about others? To give without expecting things in return.

This project is under construction. It will be solid by the weekend. A shoe drive will work its way in.

I will also be cleaning out closets.

Have any shoes to donate?

K