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I took the plunge. After years of avoiding it, I finally opened a Facebook account. Downside: it is causing my attention span to go downhill faster! Upside: I’m reconnecting with people that I haven’t been in touch with for years.

One of those people popped up on my suggested friends list. And I instantly recognized the name but was so surprised by several things. Surprised that she, a Chinese, had married a man from Scandinavia, where she now lives. Surprised at what a beautiful woman she has blossomed into after being a somewhat awkward tomboy type in my classes. Surprised at how quickly she reached out to me and how excited she was to see me again when she had been somewhat punkish and hard to read while she was my responsibility 13 years ago.

Seeing her face again, I was transported back to that shadowy classroom where I helped her and her classmates build their vocabulary, correct their grammar, and improve their pronunciation. And I clearly recall that she was one of the most challenging students in that class because she was so smart but could still be hard to communicate with. She was not as easy to relate to as many of the other students, and yet she directly showed how much she needed attention and love.

So I did my best to love her. And I know I’m not the only one who had a small (or large) hand in her development along the way. But seeing the way she’s turned out, I simply smile.

Teachers have some kind of heart vision that allows us to look at a student who is struggling or hurting or overly ambitious and see potential for something better now and something great in the future.

I realize now, in hindsight, I dreamed those things for her. But with most of my dreams, there is a little nagging sense of doubt that lurks in the background. Yet, seeing her as she is today, I gain a renewed sense of wanting to dream for and love my current and future students.

The love we give as educators today will likely reap a harvest of goodness whether or not we ever see it with our human eyes.

And so, we dream. And we love.