I've kissed my summer good-bye and embarked on yet another school year. Ten years ago I got the keys to my first classroom. It actually makes me a little teary eyed as I think about that first year with 175 awkward little 7th graders that I was charged with teaching Medieval World History to. Most of them are beginning their third year of college this year and a few I'm still in touch with and I'm so honored that they value me enough to keep me in their lives (okay, I'm actually crying now as I type). Some classes I remember so well that I see them all staring back at me in their little seating charts smiling as if they were pictures hanging on the wall of Hogwarts. Sometimes my job super sucks, let's be honest ... under appreciated, bureaucratic crap, overworked, stacks of papers, crazy parents who don't understand why their child got a "C" on a paper when the parent themselves actually wrote it, or the worst which to me is the loss of a student. Last year one of my amazing students, who I had helped get into college, died in a car accident on her way home to visit her family Easter weekend...just tragic. However, you take the good with the bad and you just can't put a value on the interactions in the classroom on a day to day basis. I start this year as always, passionate about the subject I teach, slightly burned out from last year, yet still excited about this year for being trusted with the job of building better people. How much U.S. History are those 11th graders going to absorb into their brain [hardy chuckle], who knows! Most of all, I hope they feel loved and valued each day when they leave because they are ... at least by this adult.
It's wonderful to hear your passion for history and teaching and how much you value your students. I hope your year is both fun and rewarding. Thank you for all that you do!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel! I have awesome students this year so it should be a good one!
ReplyDelete