“Ride like the wind, my brother!”
That’s what he shouts every time I approach, pedaling and grinning at his wind-milling arms that urge me on and then suddenly freeze as I pass, as if in salute, pointing onward and upward like the catapult officer on an aircraft carrier.
Last year as some of my fellow teachers and I were talking about the end-of-semester comments we have to write for all of our students, a teacher remarked that one of her favorite phrases to use (and which she reserves for special students) was “generosity of spirit.” She explained that there are often students in her classes who are not only smart and intellectually curious, but who also have a knack for stepping back and letting other students shine, who are willing to really listen to their classmates and respond to their ideas and concerns, and who approach their own work and fellow students with a certain kind of acceptance and understanding. Read More