Sometimes as a teacher, the bright and shiny moments are few and far between, but other times, they come in threes...
Recently, I have been feeling a little burnt out, especially anticipating my long absence that seems to be sneaking up on me. These recent special teaching moments have made me be more present and in the moment with my students as I have come to realize that I am going to miss them - don't read that wrong, I will not miss the paperwork, the lesson planning, the meetings, or some of the adults in my building, but I will miss their smiling faces, their voices, their funny stories, and their genuine concern for my family at this time.
Good things can sometimes come in threes...
#1: One of my favorite students this year came into class a little late one day and just when I was about to let myself get angry with him, he handed me a hand-drawn picture and said that he drew it for me {as he added a few last minute touches while I was trying to start class}. My annoyance still lingering, but definitely waning, I thanked him and was ready to continue with the beginning of my lesson as I glanced down at the picture...
Yeah, I didn't get it at first either. He went on to explain that it was Mr. Groettum and I with an angel watching over us {I am hoping that you see the fact that we are aliens, me a pregnant alien, and I think we are both cyclopes as well}.
My heart instantly melted and I felt an overwhelming urge to give him a hug. Did he somehow know all that we have been through? Could he sense my worry that I try so hard to bury deep inside of me? It was a simple gesture on his part, but has meant so much to me. It is a little symbol that a.) my students actually care about me and my family, and b.) everything is going to be ok.
#2: I tried something new to begin this school year and dove into a pretty elaborate (at least for my students) writing project. I read House on Mango Street, focusing on figuring out the character's identity. Then, we wrote our own vignettes {if you haven't read the book, it is a series of short vignettes that all weave together to tell a story about Esperanza, a teenage girl living in a semi-bad neighborhood in Chicago}which were to tell stories about our own identity and they had to emulate the kind of writing that Sandra Cisneros did in the book {things like using similes to describe events, inserting Spanish for important words, etc}.
Once I got into the project, there was no turning back. Writing has always been a little stressful for me as a teacher of special education students. There are so many things to help the students with that it can be a really daunting and overwhelming task. I was pleasantly surprised though and they knocked this project out of the park! All of them improved from their first piece to their second, really experimented with aspects of our mentor text, and told very personal stories that were super interesting!
I was and am still so proud that I just had to make a display, which is something I rarely do {I am secretly proud of my display as well, but that is kind of embarrassing to admit}.
Sometimes your students can surprise you with their skills and motivation. And sometimes as a teacher you can actually look at something you did and honestly tell yourself that you had something to do with their success. These two little things make teaching worth every minute, even the hard minutes.
#3: One of Andy's former students that we have kept in touch with over the years came over for dinner last night. Before she arrived, we did some last minute cleaning and grocery shopping for the evening. I started to sense that we were both a little nervous, which was pretty comical. We know what to do to have other adults our age or even little kids to entertain at our house, but having a college student over was something new to us. We found ourselves worrying about what music to have on so that we didn't seem super old and dorky, but also didn't seem like we were trying too hard.
We finally relaxed once she arrived and easily slid into great conversation. She filled us in on her life lately and with every word, she impressed us. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have sat with one of my former teachers like that when I was 19 years old and held my own like she did. She is one teenager that has her head screwed on straight looking forward with a plan for her future. She has got it together, I tell you!
The purpose of her visit was a project she had to do for her college English class. She was charged with interviewing someone who has the job that she wants to have one day. She got a double interview with two teachers in the house! She had great questions about the teaching profession and took all of our advice and answers in stride {and still wants to be a teacher}!
We had a fabulous evening with her and what's funny is I think she had fun with us as well. I am so thankful that I know such an amazing woman and the relationship we have with her is a little thing that we both cherish so much.
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