It was the end of a school year and I was walking down the hallway of our local high school. The usual scene was there: lockers half open and an assortment of pens, half-eaten pencils, papers and other discarded school supplies.
As I walked around looking in the different doors and wishing my friends a good summer, I saw a lone cardboard box outside the door of a teacher who I knew to be retiring that year. The box was open, flaps out, filled to the brim with books, papers, notes and other things.
As I got closer, what I saw was a gold mine—a veritable treasure chest for another English teacher. Books, resources, lesson plans, ideas for projects, posters and so many other items another English teacher might want. On the top was a small piece of paper with the word written across in pencil: “Free.”
Free. Here were the thoughts and ideas from a 30-year veteran teacher, one who had been highly successful and sought after by students and parents. Her items were being given away. Free to anyone who might stumble across the pile and take time to look at it. Free—at least until the janitors came through this hallway to begin their summer cleaning.
Two different thoughts came to my mind. First, how wonderful it was that so many of her ideas and work were available. Second, how sad it was that they had been reduced to a box outside a door.