It Couldn’t Be Done
~ by Edward Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Who knew that the 2020-2021 school year would be filled with so many things that we once thought couldn’t be done? Just a few of the things that happened in my own school district: Distance learning for every age, every grade level. Finishing out an entire school year from home. Teaching using videos and live chats. Getting tech (and meals, and books, and art supplies, and PE equipment) to every household… and so, so much more. We are down to our last few weeks of school and there is so much to think back on, a lot to be proud of, a lot to grieve the loss of — but also quite a lot to celebrate.
If your students wrote from home during quarantine, even a little bit, that is something to celebrate. Amid a world-wide pandemic, from home, using whatever resources could be scraped together your students wrote something.
It’s not ideal to end a school year this way, but you can make the most of it. Here is a compilation of writing celebration ideas. Enjoy.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
My daughter’s class had a ‘dance party’. Lots of fun! My son’s basketball team had a virtual
banquet’. This one required planning on my part, as team mom. The coach was not able to plan it bc she is moving up to high school, as is much of the team, and the county didn’t want any appearance of recruiting, even though she would be coaching the girls rather than boys. We are getting a new high school, which of course creates a ‘house divided’. So, we, the parents, planned it. We had the boys tell what they had learned from her, what they learned about themselves, something about another player that they admire, and advice for the upcoming team. It was absolutely precious to see everyone let loose, and just laugh and talk with each other. All of you teachers and coaches and other educators out there, I can only vaguely imagine your hearts during this season. THANK YOU for your efforts. I KNOW, too, that it may not appear (as usual), that you are appreciated, and that we, as parents, never ensure the amount of engagement you hope for. But, from a parental perspective…you are all absolutely INCREDIBLE and we do see the work and efforts you put into to making this Spring term meaningful and useful. You are AMAZING!!! THANK YOU for EVERY MOMENT and EVERY EFFORT.
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