There is one
official day left of school, and I am sitting in a room with nothing on the
walls, all staples removed, things packed up, and nothing left to clean.
Tomorrow is our Campus Fun Day, and once that is over, the kids will load the
buses and head home. Then it will all be over. I will have officially completed
my first year as a teacher. This dream of mine has finally hit a big milestone.
As I am sitting here, it all feels so weird. This whole year has just flown by,
and I can’t believe it. I want to remember this first year. I’ve heard time and
time again that the first year is the hardest, and I can see why. I had so much
to learn. Here are the highlights of my first year:
· Finally being offered a job after a long
summer of interviews with only one week before classes began.
· My principle walking me into my classroom
for the first time, and I was so giddy (especially when the school bell went
off!)
· Feeling overwhelmed as my husband had to work
out of town the week before school started, and I wasn’t sure how I was going
to put together a classroom at the last minute.
· Friends and family stepping in to
help me get all of the last minute stuff together.
· Jearen driving behind me to work on the first
day of school to help bring in a few last minute items.
· Being on the verge of tears (ok, I
totally freaked out and cried) when there was only 5 minutes before the first
bell rang for school to start. I was a hot mess feeling like I wasn’t ready for
all of this after all and Jearen was there to tell me to take a chill pill and
wish me luck! J
· All of the treats my bilingual kids
(my whole class) brought me because I had never had Mexican candy.
· Staying late after school with mounds
of work to do, and not wanting to get behind.
· Giving daily work, tests, and
homework with little appreciation.
· Reading books to my class.
· Crying because a student cussed me
out and I just wanted him to succeed.
· The endless classroom observations
& evaluations
· Winning a contest as a class and
earning a pizza party.
· How crazy February was with so much
work to do.
· The countdown for Spring Break.
· STAAR Testing
· Not wanting to come to school for a
few weeks when I was met with SO MUCH ATTITUDE from one little student.
· Our trip to the Zoo.
· The weekly chats I had with my bff
coworker to help me stay sane.
· Introducing my class to Ray Charles
radio on Pandora.
· Giving out endless band aids, hugs,
and consultations.
· Loving students so much that their
behavior hurt my heart.
· Seeing how God worked out this whole
year and proved himself faithful.
I can only
imagine what my class thought of me. Some days I was so full of patience, grace
and kindness, and some days were not so glamorous. One of my students left a
message for me on my board before leaving class today, and my heart was softened.
This student has been hard to handle since day one, with a rough background, a
defensive attitude, and a lack of trying. Everyday there was something with
this student. All year I kept trying and trying to reach this student, because
I wanted to see them succeed. I wanted the best for this student because I
cared so much about them, even though they could care less about me. To make a
long story short, I didn’t see much hope with this student, but I kept pursuing
with kindness and love. Somewhere along the last two months, this student has
done a 360. This student doesn’t have the same attitude, listens when being
asked to do or not do something, hugs me all the time, and started putting in
effort with school work. It is just amazing what not giving up on a kid can do.
Below is the sweet message this little love bug left me, and I truly hope that
every student experienced this from me: THAT I CARED A LOT FOR THEM!
Well folks, that’s
a wrap for #mrsmyersin5th first year! Thanks for being a part of the journey!
-Becky
