not all heroes wear capes.
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me “you left at the perfect time”.
I’d be in Hawaii vacationing right now
&
I’ve never agreed more.
You are all about to embark on teaching history. Imagine telling your grandchildren that you taught through a pandemic.The country is all praying you live through it to be able to tell about it. That’s pretty damn cool.
YOU. ARE. HEROES.
Teaching is my passion. I will miss so much about it, but there is so much I won’t miss.
I won’t miss the sleepless nights worrying about kids I didn’t give birth to. I won’t miss the headaches that come with the endless paperwork and deadlines. I won’t miss trying to find the time outside of teaching to get all the said paperwork done. I won’t miss the penis drawings on the desks (actually yes I will). I won’t miss being blatantly disrespected and cursed at under misguided breaths. I won’t miss the emails from parents that insist that they could do my job better. I won’t miss being told that I have it so easy because I have summers off. HA. I won’t miss sitting through meetings that could have been emails. I won’t miss trying to prove my effectiveness as a teacher and feeling like a number on a grading scale. I won’t miss feeling like my hands were tied trying to help a kid succeed. I won’t miss choking on my lunch because I was trying to inhale it while setting up a science lab before my next class came in. I won’t miss holding my pee all day.
It wasn’t all shits though. There were lots of giggles that came with the job...lots. And those I will miss.
I will also miss that look on my students face when they finally “get it”. I will miss the notes left on my desks without penis’ on them. I will miss students hugs, smiles, and them telling me that I was their favorite teacher ever. I will miss standing on my desk teaching, just to make sure everyone was listening. I will miss the thank you emails from parents telling me what a difference I made. I will miss the story telling, the read alouds, the true family that is created in those 9 months.
Teachers are going back to school this year and are going to miss a lot. You are doing it with a smile on your face, ready to take on what ever is thrown at you. Because that’s what teachers do, and they do it with grace.
YOU.ARE.AMAZING
I had a hard time believing I was every making a difference when I was in the thick of it. Stepping back, I know I did.
And SO.ARE.YOU.
Regardless of the restrictions, the masks, and the lack of hugging there will be, those kids need you.
Plus, now you have what we’ve always wanted...a mute button!
xo and cheers to an unforgettable year.
