Leaving the Kids - Teaching is a Strange Job!

Teaching is such a strange job. As a second career teacher, I’ve been in several environments. There isn’t one other job that I would have felt teary at leaving.  In fact, there is normally massive excitement at a break ahead. But teaching is weird.

Here we are. The day I leave for the UK. The day FMLA starts & I wing myself over to the UK to look after Mum. She’s excited & desperate for her daughter to be there. She doesn’t always remember that I’m coming, but the reaction is the same every time I remind her. Happy tears. Being 90, living alone, facing Alzheimer's, and knowing that you need help - it must be scary. There are times she's cognizant of the facts but forgets that I am coming to take care of her future.  There are times that she pleads for help and is delighted when I let her know that I will be there.  Hearing your own mother - a strong, independent woman - scared and alone is heartbreaking.

But I'm on my way.

Yesterday was my last day. A day filled with surprises and emotions. One class threw a ‘British tea party’ for me - adorable - with a list of who was bringing what - highly organized. The other seemed to be completely unaware but then stunned me with a surprise party - designer cake and all. Both groups showered me with gifts and made me feel incredibly special and loved.

I've never quite felt that way as a teacher, and now I’m a mix of emotions. I’ve taught most of these kids for two years. I have become a huge proponent of looping after this experience - I've been a better teacher, and my students have been better learners. We became a team as we grew together. We accomplished things we might never have done without that trust and those relationships in place. But that makes leaving them even harder. So hard.

These kids have truly embraced my investment and 'crazy' ideas. They have reflected, learned, and (I like to think) grown as people. If nothing else, they love ELA - and that's a WIN in my book.

The kids will be just fine without me. I haven’t done my job if they aren’t independent, reflective learners by now. I’ll see them as I start my new role in August and they begin 8th grade.  The bottom line is that Mum needs me. As a single Mum, she gave up so much to care for me…now it’s my turn to be there for her.  

She deserves it.

Cheers!

Chasing Dreams!

 We can always be better. It doesn’t matter how good you are at teaching, how good your classroom management style is, how well you engage your students, there’s always more to discover and achieve. There are always better goals, there are always loftier heights to reach. And there are always dreams.

A couple of years ago, my principal shared an idea with me – what she thought would be the perfect job for me. A mix of literacy coach and media specialist, allowing me to extend my love of learning to many more students, to help coach teachers to bring literacy into different content areas, and to give me more freedom that the ELA curriculum does not allow.  I loved the idea, and it seems that many other people agreed that this would be the perfect fit. The problem was finding the principal who would be willing to create the position. Someone who would give up that allotment, to allow a vision to occur.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

We almost thought it was going to happen. It was so close. But then, it ended up that the job didn’t happen. And the little fledging dream was crushed, as they so often are.

But the beautiful thing about dreams is that you are never stuck with just one. Dreams are yours, no one can stop you from having them, and they can be as elaborate — and detailed — as you would like them to be.

I like making up dreams. I like to think of possibilities. I like to imagine just what could be achieved in the right climate💡 

Of course, this is one reason sleep is often overtaken by ideas 🛌 

The old cliché is always true when one door closes, another one opens. But I also think you have to look for that door. Maybe you have to push that door a little, give it an extra nudge, make things happen.

So right now, I’m at that stage where I’m creating dreams again. Thinking of how I could find a way to move out of the strictures of the fixed curriculum and into a world of digital citizenship, real-life research, and authentic project-based learning. How can I bring that to students?     There’s limited scope as the traditional ELA teacher, but maybe there are ways. Would I be able to find that job in a not-so-traditional environment 🤔 Can I integrate more into ELA without competing with common assessments🤨

It’s ‘crazy season’ in our world right now

🤪 🤪 🤪 🤪 

COVID or not, we are hiring and planning for next year.  Teachers are shifting roles and competing for positions. There’s a fine line between 'speaking up’ and ‘being pushy.’ But then there’s that feeling of, “I was professional before and that got me nowhere...”

So I’ve had a suggestion made to me, one that I really like. I countered with one that I like even better, and that’s as far as it can go right now.

I really want to believe that my dream was taken away because there’s a better one around the corner. And maybe the corner isn’t going to be this summer, maybe it’s going to be next year, but at least I have begun to sow some seeds, and people who have the power are listening.

In the meantime, I have a simple job, to be the best teacher I can possibly be to the students that I am lucky enough to have🤷🏼‍♀️

But no one can stop me from dreaming 💭💭💭