“I don’t need men. I just want some popcorn” – Lauren, as she’s making popcorn on the stovetop, (we have no microwave) shaking the pan back and forth over the burner.
*Note: this was written on Friday, March 3, 2010. But due to not having internet at my house (and distractions at school) I am just now posting it....
I have had an awesome 24 hours.
Let’s start with last night
I was grading some essays, which are a part of the midterm. The kids are supposed to choose a topic that we’ve covered in class this quarter and write an essay about the causes and effects of that topic. One of the essays I read made me so happy. It was by a junior boy in my U.S. history class. Despite being ulavale (naughty) very often, and driving me absolutely crazy, he is one of my most favorite students. He chose to write about the Civil War. My class wrote these essays on Tuesday afternoon, when I went home at lunch because I was not feeling good. So my class was being watched by another teacher. I wasn’t sure if they would actually work on the essays and was pleasantly surprised when I went to school the next day and most of them had actually completed the essays.
Last night I began grading them. Before long, I came across the one written by the student mentioned above. At the end of the essay, I had a huge smile on my face. I was so proud of this student. He had taken the notes I had given him and written an amazing essay in his own words, carefully outlining the causes and effects of the Civil War, and adding some other details in between. At the bottom of the essay, he added:
“God bless you my best teacher. Don't give up. Keep your teaching wonderful. Thank you for everything.”
Now, at this point in the year, I am kind of used to students making these kind of comments on their and assignments and journals. But for some reason, this declaration really hit me. Maybe because of the student it was coming from, I am not sure. But it really affected me and reminded me that some kids really do appreciate me and my teaching.
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Today was a normal day. In each class I reviewed for midterms next week…then I let my kids work on their essays. 6th period is the last class of the day…AND it’s my prep period!! (1/2 the week I have to sub, but the other days I actually get to take advantage of that time off..)
My friend and fellow volunteer teacher Heidi teaches her 6th period science class in my room. Today she had invited guest speakers from the National Park Service to come and talk to the class. I took the work that I had to grade and went to sit in the back of the room. The park rangers began their presentation. I was about half listening.
After awhile they were talking about different national parks (FYI::the National Park of American Samoa is the only U.S. national park that is south of the equator!) and then started talking about historical sites. When I looked up, the slide had changed to a picture of a battlefield. The caption read “the battle of Gettysburg”. My student who wrote the awesome essay was sitting 3 seats ahead of me. He turned and said, “Miss, Civil War, uh?” I nodded. Then the park ranger asked the class “Who was fighting during the Civil War?” Now, most of the kids in the room were also in either my 1st or 2nd period U.S. history class…and we had studied the Civil War about a month ago. All the kids answered correctly..”Union! Confederates! North vs. South!!!”. I looked across the room at Heidi, who had a big smile on her face. I knew that she was thinking the same thing as me…I taught them something! They remembered this!!!
The park ranger then looked at the other rangers, astonished. He then turned to the class and said…”Do you know, that out of all the schools we’ve been to, no one has answered that question right?” all of the kids cheered and clapped. The park ranger then said, “That is awesome. Who is your history teacher?”
All of the kids turned and pointed to me, sitting at the back of the room. The park rangers and the class all started clapping. I was overwhelmed and held the notebook I was grading in front of my face.
That moment made it all worth it. All the bad days. All the stress. All the ulavale students. All the crazy times. All the moments when kids said “Miss, it’s too hot. I want to sleep.” And put their heads down. In that moment, my students were able to answer a Civil War question from someone not affiliated with our school. They then all, in unison, credited me with teaching them that information.
I am hooked. I am a teacher. This is it for me. Despite all of the bad days, it’s these small, short-lived moments that make it all worth it. It’s days like this that make me thank God for getting me out of the film production program and sticking me into education my sophomore year at EWU. I have no idea where I’ll be teaching in the future. But if I can have a few more moments like that one, I know it will all be worth it.
I am a teacher. And I have some amazing students. I only have 3 months left with them. And I will cherish every minute of it.
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