I sit here, trying to figure out what I will do for the next three months of summer, but also reflecting on the past nine months of school. I'm lost in both directions. When I look forward, I see procrastination at it's finest. I have a few books I need to read, professional development to sign up for, and curriculum to adjust. It can wait until after my vacation :). However, when I look back from where I came, I am at a loss; I'm lost for words. I am in awe of what I have accomplished, humbled by my students, and grateful that God was by my side during all of it.
When I first started teaching, someone told me to write down my experiences. Little did they know that I blogged. They said that I would be surprised by what I use to think was important and what I valued enough to write down. Little did I know, they were right. I only find it appropriate to reread my blog from the first week of school. The events that happened in my classroom in the first week seemed monumental, but I now scoff at myself for thinking they were enormous issues. I took away cell phones and talked to students about their language... whoop- de-do. Those were the least of my worries; I broke up a fight during my class, vulgar language was directed towards me, angry parent calling to tell me I am a stupid ass teacher and no one likes me. The ironic part is... it was during teacher appreciation week. I am sure that there were more issues that I faced, but these are what seem monumental to me now, so these are what I remember. However, I stand by my closing statement: "It has only been one week and I feel that I have made leaps and bounds in my goal of improving my classroom management." If I grew leaps and bounds after just one week, what would... well, I don't know how many weeks were after that. I lost count on the calendar after 10. But 180 days of school divided by 5 days a week is 36 weeks. Minus 1 for the first week is 35 weeks. Look, Math! If I grew leaps and bounds after just one week, what would the other 35 weeks have in store? Am I a super hero? I am in awe of how much I improved this year. During student teaching, I was nervous to stop kids from whispering in the back of the classroom. Now, that is child's play. I am playing in the big leagues. I am by no means hitting grand slams or even home runs. I have a lot to learn, but for now a few stolen bases will do.
Side Notes: Even though my Uncle Tom does not believe I can be a scary teacher, I did have at least one student scared of me. He even had another teacher ask me if he could get help after school from me. He was too scared to do it himself... oops. After I helped him, with a smile on my face, I asked him if he was still scared of me. He blushed and said, "Kinda." Well... at least it wasn't a yes. Baby steps.
Enough about me, let's hear about my amazing students. Whenever I think about their story, they humble me. I want to start off by encouraging you click the link to read a comic. One of my friends had posted it on facebook, and I couldn't help but put faces and names in place of Paula.
I had one student in my class-- she was such a joy. Despite her situation, she made so much improvement. I am extremely proud of her. At the beginning of the year, she was in a special edu. math class and struggled to get a D in my class. Towards the end of third quarter, she made a bet with her resource math teacher that she could not get all A's. She did, but it wasn't without several hours of after school help. She continued her straight A's into fourth quarter as well. Soon enough, she was staying after school to just hang out or help me in my class. She would stay for as long as I let her. And when I left, she would see if there was another teacher still around. I'm not only proud of her for working hard to get an A, but at the end of year testing, she was one of my students who improved the most. A year's growth is shown by an increased score of 50 to 80 points. She improved her score by about 170 points. She went from a third grade level of math to a fifth grade level. Although she is still had a Level 1, Below Basic score, she is on track for soon being proficient for her grade level.
And get this- she wants to be either a math or science teacher.
I had another student who surprised me. In my opinion, he did not choose his friend group very wisely, but he never let them stop him from being successful. At the beginning of the year, he and his friends were very talkative. But once I found out what he was capable of, all I had to say was "You can do better than this" and he would get his friends to stop talking and get focused on class. It makes me sad that he will not be my student next year, but I am excited to see him in the hallways and hope that I can still encourage him to be the best he can be. Maybe I'll rope him into being my TA.
I had another student, I had lots of other students, but this one concerned me. At the end of the year, I was passing out grade checks. He had a low F in my class-- the percent was in the teens. He was never a behavior issue in class, but he showed no desire to succeed academically. All of his other grades were low Fs as well. I had asked him about staying after school, but he said he had to go home to watch his brother. I had suggested that he and his brother do homework at the same time. His response: "That won't work." He had to take care of his baby brother. I can't imagine-- being in eighth grade and taking care of a baby every day. I babysat, but never that much and I wasn't related to them! I told him that if he wanted to be my TA next year, I would let him do homework during that time. I hope he takes me up on that offer.
There was another student, who I cannot help but smile when I think of her. She really opened up to me during the last few weeks of school. She was always a hard working student and answered questions in class, but she thrived with my end of year project. I had my seventh graders produce math short stories. She and her partners worked diligently on their project. One day after school, she told me that her mom was surprised she had to do this type of project-- they never did that when she was a kid. My student continued to say that her whole family knew about this project because she kept talking about it. She thought about how to get her story to work so much that she was even dreaming about it at night! This made my day... really, my school year.
When I think about all the good times I have had with my students, I forget about the issues I faced. I know that I have accomplished things in the classroom, and I have more to improve on, but I am nothing without my students. Something wonderful is going to come from these students. For some, what they face might seem difficult. For others, what they face will seem impossible. God has a plan for them, and I hope that God's plan of me in their lives will make an ounce of a difference. After all, a stolen base can lead to a home run.
