Episode 193: Fresh Gradebooks and Missing Pencils

A new school year begins with fresh lesson plans, clean bulletin boards, unopened gradebooks, and teachers determined not to smile for two weeks. But the newness soon gives way to missing pencils, tardy students, hallway scuffles, discipline referrals—and the mysteries of school lunch. Drawing on twenty years in the classroom, Ted remembers the excitement, frustration, and humor of returning to school.Beneath it all is a deeper truth: teachers plant seeds they may never see grow. Success cannot always be measured by grades, test scores, or immediate results. Sometimes we plant, someone else waters, and God provides the growth.