Most Meaningful Moments

As a teacher, you have many kids come in and out of your life. Some you see often, in the halls, coming back to see you, sending you emails, and some just continue down their path and you become a distant memory...either way, you are a part of those children's lives, forever. But, it not often talked about that those kids, also become a part of the teacher's life as well. Some years there are just those kids that you really connect with...that really make an impact on you!

In my 12 years of teaching, I have encountered some amazing kids, kids that could think in ways I couldn't, see the world in a whole new way, kids that made me laugh on a regular basis, kids with the sweetest hearts...in fact, I wrote about the class I had last year being an amazing class, all around.

There are students that never show how you effect them, and those that will tell you all the time how much they love you. There are those that take the time to send an email, just to see how you're doing, and those that draw you pictures or write you letters in their free time. Each one is meaningful. Each one warms my heart and makes me feel special.

There is a student in my class, that I also had last year, that is a fun and bright little guy. He makes me laugh daily. He is in love with the Percy Jackson book series. He read them last year (before me) and told me all about them. Last week I found out that Rick Riordan (the author) was coming to town for a book signing. I let him know the info, in case his parents could take him. Today was that day. All day, I heard about how excited he was, how he was going to get the new book that night and have him sign it...it was great to see an 8 year old be so excited about meeting an author! At the end of the day, I told him that if there was a line, I would gladly allow him to hop in with me, if I was ahead of him. He looked at me amazed and said, "You know, you really are like an aunt to me. You are so great and a lot of fun." OMG! I thought I would cry right there. What an amazing compliment! I think that completely made my year, possibly my career. I did see the little guy at the signing, and he was SO excited. It was sweet to see him meeting Rick Riordan, he was in absolute amazement when he got up to the front, barely saying a word (which is not like him at all--so you know he was in awe), and so cute as he walked away with the book..."I got it!" and lifted the book in the air. I will never forget this little fellow, he has warmed my heart.

On a sadder note, I am losing one of my students...one that I had last year, and was so excited to have again this year. She is moving far away, and I couldn't be sadder. She makes my day rich and fun. She is bright and caring. I'll be honest and say that I have never been so effected by a family moving away. This is the pitfall of being a teacher, you grow to care about the child, and then they may just disappear. This little girl touched my life, and I truly hope that she keeps in contact with me (she emailed me all summer--so this will probably happen, at least for awhile). The class is not going to be the same without her...