So, yesterday was my last day in the classroom. It was bittersweet. I am looking forward to the adventure that God has laid before us, but spending so many hours with the same people nearly every weekday for 10 months becomes routine. Every student has a spot in my memory. I'm sure on Monday I'll wake up thinking it's time to go, only to remember that I'll never go again (maybe once to say hi). :)
As the day went on, it became more real. I gave a lot of hugs and said a lot of good byes, to students and to colleagues.
My 1st period was relatively small with only 14-17 students through out the year, so it was pretty peaceful. Of course, we had the few kids that had to talk so loud that you felt like they were screaming (and sometimes they were). Then we had the ones that never said a word. It was a nice start to the day because we could get ourselves warmed up without jumping into a big class with lots of chaos.
At my school, 4th period was almost twice as long as the other classes, so I spent A LOT of time with those students. I really enjoyed each one of them. Of course, they knew how to push my buttons and sometimes I think some of them purposely tried to see if they get me to lose my mind, but they couldn't crack me. :)
My 5th period class was an entire mess of craziness. Don't misunderstand, they certainly were not "bad" kids and didn't cause trouble (most of the time), they were just very social. They could talk about the most random topics and never seemed to run out of things to say. Even the best students who got all of their work done, hardly ever stopped talking in that class. I think at some point, every person in the room wanted to get out of there at least once. By the end, we made it through with nearly all of them successfully passing the state exams and finishing the class. Believe me, they talked so much I was seriously concerned if they were ever hearing anything I said.
I gave the students this blog address, so maybe one of them will actually read this. Hopefully, they'd agree with my description. I enjoyed everyone of them, even the ones that aren't great "students." They are interesting people with an entire life ahead of them. Fortunately, being a good student is not a requirement for having a good life. If I could be an extra person in the classroom, rather than the one who has to keep order and teach the math, I'd love to sit around and chat, hearing all the things they had to say. We did have some random conversations, and I usually enjoyed them.
I graduated from college 10 years ago and began my teaching career. I have distinct memories from every year and will always cherish having gotten to know so many young people. I hope in any small way, I helped them. If it was related to math, that's great, but more importantly, I hope that at least once I smiled when they needed something positive; I gave grace when they thought they'd be in trouble; I encouraged them when they felt lost or alone; or I gave them space and didn't push when they just needed to put their head down to sleep or to cry.
If I could tell them anything, it would be...God loves you. You were created for a purpose. You do not have to be who the world tells you to be. You just have to be you. When the going gets tough, ask God for help. If you know him or not, he's there. When you can't figure out how to fill the unexplained emptiness, open a Bible and read the book of John.
As the day went on, it became more real. I gave a lot of hugs and said a lot of good byes, to students and to colleagues.
My 1st period was relatively small with only 14-17 students through out the year, so it was pretty peaceful. Of course, we had the few kids that had to talk so loud that you felt like they were screaming (and sometimes they were). Then we had the ones that never said a word. It was a nice start to the day because we could get ourselves warmed up without jumping into a big class with lots of chaos.
At my school, 4th period was almost twice as long as the other classes, so I spent A LOT of time with those students. I really enjoyed each one of them. Of course, they knew how to push my buttons and sometimes I think some of them purposely tried to see if they get me to lose my mind, but they couldn't crack me. :)
My 5th period class was an entire mess of craziness. Don't misunderstand, they certainly were not "bad" kids and didn't cause trouble (most of the time), they were just very social. They could talk about the most random topics and never seemed to run out of things to say. Even the best students who got all of their work done, hardly ever stopped talking in that class. I think at some point, every person in the room wanted to get out of there at least once. By the end, we made it through with nearly all of them successfully passing the state exams and finishing the class. Believe me, they talked so much I was seriously concerned if they were ever hearing anything I said.
I gave the students this blog address, so maybe one of them will actually read this. Hopefully, they'd agree with my description. I enjoyed everyone of them, even the ones that aren't great "students." They are interesting people with an entire life ahead of them. Fortunately, being a good student is not a requirement for having a good life. If I could be an extra person in the classroom, rather than the one who has to keep order and teach the math, I'd love to sit around and chat, hearing all the things they had to say. We did have some random conversations, and I usually enjoyed them.
I graduated from college 10 years ago and began my teaching career. I have distinct memories from every year and will always cherish having gotten to know so many young people. I hope in any small way, I helped them. If it was related to math, that's great, but more importantly, I hope that at least once I smiled when they needed something positive; I gave grace when they thought they'd be in trouble; I encouraged them when they felt lost or alone; or I gave them space and didn't push when they just needed to put their head down to sleep or to cry.
If I could tell them anything, it would be...God loves you. You were created for a purpose. You do not have to be who the world tells you to be. You just have to be you. When the going gets tough, ask God for help. If you know him or not, he's there. When you can't figure out how to fill the unexplained emptiness, open a Bible and read the book of John.
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| Farewell, LC! Thanks for the adventure! |
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