Our Time Has Come

As another year has come to an end, I have mixed feelings, probably just like most of you teachers out there. The teacher side of me says “THANK GOODNESS IT’S OVER. SUMMER’S ARRIVED.” Thoughts come to my head and it goes something like “good riddance of  this student, I don’t have to deal with their attitude and laziness ever again.” The other side, my “normal” side I guess says that I’m going to miss these kids, even though they were “knuckleheads” (this is what my teacher calls the lazy kids). These kids always crack me up and I have developed good relationships with my students in all three of my classes.

Of course, there will always be some that will never like me for whatever reason, and I have learned to just let it go.  I think that with each class I have taught, I will miss all my students. Whether it’s because they took time to say hi to me during passing periods or if they ask me how I’m doing and what I did over the weekend, it’s the fact that there are students who do care about the teachers as well. I think one of the most difficult things as a teacher is when the end of the year comes around. It’s that time where as teachers, we say goodbye to a class that we have grown to love, warts and all. It’s that time where high school seniors are now called graduates and start paving their own futures. There are some that will stop by and say hi when the next year comes around. As a teacher, you wonder at night if you did all you could do to prepare your seniors for college and the next steps they take.    

What about the rest of the class? The freshman, sophomores and juniors? Don’t worry about them, you have taught them as well as you could and they have grown in their maturity level. I mean ALL KIDS, not just the good ones, but EVERYONE. When the new year rolls around, you will see them walking down the hallway and you will see that they have changed, even if it’s a small change, it’s something. Just know that you have influenced their lives in a positive way.

            I think there is beauty of saying goodbye to one class and hello to the next. You get to start the same process with your classes. You will never get the same personalities twice. You learn and hone your skills from the year before and you are able to add more resources to your “teaching” toolbox. You also get to impart nuggets of knowledge and wisdom into their lives and positively influence another class