refreshing it was to listen to our teachers respond to their challenges by focusing on the positives that came from being poked by a bristle on a stem. Without hesitation, they chose to own their experiences by shifting their focus to the petals on the rose rather than the thorn on the stem. For the most part, those bristles often come in the form of our most challenging students. Yet every now and then we are reminded that many of our students who remain closed buds during their school years often blossom into beautiful roses long after they leave us.
