That's an amazing article - reading it from the standpoint of being a teacher.  Your words are good for our souls because we too often tend to think that the entire life of a child rides on our ability to teach him everything he/she needs to know in the one year that we have him/her.

The way you presented this article makes me think of an assembly line in a factory; a factory where 30 or so products come in on a conveyor belt from another room; a factory where we are given only 9 months to fix all of the defects of the past and prepare that product for not only the next assembly room, but also life beyond the factory.

Many, sadly, we just can't fix well enough before our time is up; hoping they will be fixed by another master craftsman farther up the conveyor belt.  Some, you just need to polish and make them shine.  You just have a few seconds to admire your work before they're taken away from you - and often you'll never know what happens to them.

Always remember that your teachers are proud of you, no matter how many years into the future you are separated from them.  We, wrongly, take credit for all of your success; but we also feel all of your failures.

We'll never have the luxury of enjoying the finished product.  We'll only see the work in progress - nine months at a time.