ABSTRACT
Dear Teacher, You are enough. Just as you are. So are your students. Just as they are. You are all doing your best. Your best is always changing. Whether it feels like “enough,” it is no less your best. “Enough” is an elusive standard. Life has become an extreme sport. There is so much pressure to perform and so little grace for being human. Shame, judgment, and pushing won’t help you or your students do better or feel like “enough.” Compassion, empathy, and grace will. “Enough” comes from meeting yourself and your students exactly where you are and honoring yourselves for exactly who you are. “Enough” comes from you and your students feeling seen, heard, and understood. “Enough” comes from building on your own and your students’ unique strengths. That is the curriculum of life. Meet people where they are. Honor them for who they are. Help them feel seen, heard, and understood. Build on their strengths to help them grow. 85That’s what teachers and students need to teach and learn to be successful professionals, partners, parents, and people of the world. The magic of education, for teachers and students, is being empowered, feeling deeply, and truly knowing that you are “enough.” You are enough. Just as you are. And so are your students. Just as they are.
