read between the runs

i’ve definitely been trying to procrastinate the writing of this one for as long as i could, but with the school year officially over, i can prolong no longer.

this year has felt like one continuous dream. immediately when the school year started i knew how good i had it with the students in my classroom, and i was trying to do everything i could to slow time down and bask in it. i did the best that i could, but father time is undefeated and the end of the year is now upon us. i feel incredibly overwhelmed with emotions of despair and gratitude. i was the luckiest teacher in the world to have students that worked hard and strove to learn each and every day. i told them often how important it was that even though they did not necessarily want to learn, they were willing to learn. that small difference will carry them through lives successfully as far as they want to go.

aside from the learning component of why i attached so much to these students was that they were just good people. they cared about each other, didn’t bully (too much), worked well with people outside their friend groups, and were respectful. so respectful! i didn’t have to beg for quiet or attention, i simply had to ask. i wasn’t groveling for them to do the right thing; they did it with simple, regular reminding. what stands out is that they just acted like how i remember kids acting 10 years ago. no kid is ever going to be perfect. of course they’re going to talk to their friends, get off task, and not finish work. if i expected only perfect behavior, indubitably i was going to end up disappointed. but no, they just acted like kids act and i couldn’t be happier with that. plus they really stepped up my art game! my wall is bout to go crazy next year!

my favorite trait of my students this year, though, was just how funny they were. like genuinely hilarious and sarcastic amidst all of the work. i was able to do my math while telling jokes and they bought straight into it and gave it back to me tenfold. each and every day was filled with laughter in a way that i can’t imagine replicating with any other group of students. i love a student who can joke around with me while completing high quality work, and that’s what happened! they knew when to work and when to play, which made each day even brighter than it already had been with them. and the wild part is that it wasn’t a few isolated ones, but genuinely over half of my students who were that way.

after such a dreadful last year at school, i feel entirely revitalized after having these kids. i am grateful to them for reminding my why i love to teach and showing me how great and impactful teaching can be upon me when the students act like kids and not demons. i know how fortunate i was this year and i won’t let that fade from my memory. i loved waking up each morning knowing i was going to get to see kids that i genuinely enjoyed being around. i am going to miss that feeling next year. i’ll miss the joyous smiles in the hallway, inside jokes, two-way banter, and truly just the people they are. they showed me that the future is not entirely doomed and how the future is in good hands if students like mine are to lead the next generations.

particular moments, themes, and jokes i would like to remember:

• “you dropped something”
• “i LOVE your outfit!”
• ms. 100
• victor’s tattoo
• “you can think that”
• “is that a 5g cellular device”
• tic tac toe drawings on my forehead
• trigonometry lessons
• 49/62 students completing mathia
• 87% growth on MAP
• the whole class shouting out steps when solving for x
• last day of school hugs
• mutual love and respect

(i realize i may be romanticizing a bit here, but i’m feeling pre-nostalgic at the moment and don’t want to shy away from the thoughts in my head.)

i have some hope that i can experience similar success in future years, but only time will tell how much impact i myself have on if that can be done. knowing the turn around many of our students had from 6th grade to 8th makes me hopeful that this next group will have a similar change of character.

i’m not sure what else to add. i think that because i have felt so impacted by these students i feel like my words should be more grand and more compelling, so by comparison this feels like a letdown, though i know it is not. in the end though, i hope these kids continue being who they are for as long as they can and know that i am so incredibly proud of them.

do great; be happy