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Magical Moments in Teaching

By Julie Riggs
English Department Chair, K-7, Lakehill Preparatory School

There have been many moments in my life as a teacher when I have felt the presence of a Power greater than myself, and today was one of them. Using feedback from my students from year to year, I often modify annual lessons, and I had spent several days of my holiday doing exactly that to a unit of study and research related to William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker.

I find the story of Keller and Sullivan fascinating and inspiring on so many levels that I once voluntarily read the over 800-page “definitive biography” of both women and a few years ago even wrote a short play about Sullivan as part of an international effort called 365 Days of Women. 

My seventh-grade classes began our unit in earnest today, touching on the primary themes of our research and reading the first dozen or so pages of Gibson’s play. As my students and I began to see connections that I had not consciously incorporated into the assignment, I experienced that triad of excitement, gratitude, and humility that can only be properly called magical or blessed.

Undeniably, teaching is hard work, but days like this are why I’ll never give it up!

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