As a teacher, it is so easy to get lost in the hard moments of your day. Especially during my first year I felt so broken down by the end of the day. The students would get on the buses and then everything that happened that day would hit me like a brick and I would fall into my desk chair. Luckily, my dear MTC friend Summer bought me a beautiful journal for Christmas. I started to write down one good thing that happened everyday at school. It completely changed my view of my day! I realized that good moments were happening, I was just focusing all of my attention on the bad ones. I remember last summer, when I met up with Coach King, Kelly King, and Kristen McConnell. I remember Coach King telling me he had faith that I would have a lot more winning moments during my second year. I am so happy to say that that has been true. This page is devoted to celebrating all of those "little victories". What I now understand is that little victories are sometimes all that teachers get. It can be such a thankless job. Little do my students know that it's often a hug in the hallway or a wave from their classroom that really brightens my day.
Just the other day, I was driving out of school for the day. My sixth grade students are beginning spring football training, so I drove by slowly so I could get a good look at how it was going. One of my students saw me and started to wave. Then several other boys realized who he was waving at and started to wave at me too. About ten beautiful boys waved me goodbye that day, and it was like every bad moment of my day have been forgotten. Those little moments are absolutely what keep me going. I believe that there is nothing as hard as a bad day for a teacher, but there is also nothing that compares to the little victories that teachers experience.
Just the other day, I was driving out of school for the day. My sixth grade students are beginning spring football training, so I drove by slowly so I could get a good look at how it was going. One of my students saw me and started to wave. Then several other boys realized who he was waving at and started to wave at me too. About ten beautiful boys waved me goodbye that day, and it was like every bad moment of my day have been forgotten. Those little moments are absolutely what keep me going. I believe that there is nothing as hard as a bad day for a teacher, but there is also nothing that compares to the little victories that teachers experience.
This was written by a student during my first-year. He wrote this as an extra credit assignment in Ms. Ayer's class. I remember that day so vividly. He kept asking me if Ms. Ayer had shown it to me yet. When I read it, it meant so much to me. I still have this piece of paper and I will treasure it always. I especially love that he felt like I was a teacher he could talk to about something going on in his life. It is so important to me that my students feel like they have a loving person in the building with them every school day. This student is now in the seventh grade and seeing him in the hallway makes me so happy every single time! It has also been amazing to see him flourish so much in sports.
This is a great example of how my students have made my day in the simplest of ways. During my first-year, we did a short poetry unit. Little did I know that one of my super quiet students wrote poetry in her spare time. Her friend in class gave me this poem she wrote and I was so excited by it! I knew that in someway, what we had read in class sparked something within her and it meant so much to me. I ended up ordering her several poetry books and when I see her this year, I always ask her if she has new poems written! One of the most genuine ways I have connected with students is never forgetting what they love and asking about it!
I took this picture on the last day of school last year. Those last few weeks of year 1 were the most difficult for me. My students were so ready for summer break and it manifested in a lot of disrespect and chaos in my room. I was also incredibly burned out from the year. It was a diabolical combination. I remember going to school on the last day of the year, wondering what the day would be like. I thought for sure it was going to be the worst of them all--my students would surely be "turnt" all day. Instead, they were so loving. It was a beautiful send-off. I bought a selfie stick the night before and we had a lot of fun taking pictures together. I remember thinking, I think I actually DO mean something to them! Luckily, I was right. My relationships with my students from last year are really special this year.
My portfolio is entitled Powerful Beyond Measure, which is a line from the poem Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson. I have taught the poem both last year and this year. Both years, students have loved the poem. But this year, something really special happened. My students grasped the motivational message of the poem. It was such a special week in my classroom.
At the end of the week, right before seventh period, one of my male students handed me a piece of notebook paper. He is in my first period, so I had already seen him that day. I honestly assumed it was a piece of garbage, but when I looked at it, I found this incredible original poem entitled, No Fear. I loved it so much. I was elated to know that the poem we read sparked something in him. Four months later, and he is still writing poetry! This is what being a teacher is all about.
Even now, a few months later, students still reference this poem. The other day I was getting onto a student about not doing his class work. One of his peers said, "Ms. G is just trying to get you to be powerful beyond measure!". It was AWESOME.
The evolution of teacher/student relationships is fascinating to me. You never know what your students truly think of you, and sometimes the ones who seem to like you the very least end up coming around. This student and I really had no relationship last year. He was a year-long MTC summer school role play for me. I could not get him to sit down, let alone learn from me. I assumed he would not even look my way when year 2 began. Instead, I will never forget the beautiful smile he gave me on the first day of school in August. To this day, he gives me the biggest hug when he sees me in the hallway and it means the world to me every time. As a teacher, it is the unexpected moments that blow me away the very most. I never expected this student to be so loving towards me, but he is. He has taught me that students notice everything, especially how you speak to them. He has had a large impact on me.