I have a case of the Sunday night blues tonight, and it’s not for the reason you’d think.
The school year is over here, and tomorrow I have to drive to my school for the last time to get my room checked and to turn in my keys.
Y’all. I’m SAD.
I mean, let’s be real.
Teaching is definitely NOT always sunshine and bunnies and rainbows. (In the world of education, those things would be the equivalent of well-behaved kids, huge academic growth in all students, supportive and happy parents, plus simply the ability to impact young little lives in a positive way every day.)
But sometimes, that’s exactly what it is.
Isn’t it crazy how we count down the days to the end of the year, and then when the last day FINALLY gets here, it seems like it’s arrived much too soon?
I think as teachers, we often get caught up in the little stuff: a student with a behavior problem, poorly-designed curriculum, a snarky email from a parent, or only having 20 minutes to go to the bathroom and scarf down lunch.
That stuff is obnoxious. It is. And I am SO GUILTY myself of getting caught up in the negatives, going through the motions, and counting down the hours left of school instead of focusing on why I chose this profession to begin with.
We can’t forget the big picture.
We have such an important job to do!
We, as teachers, have the opportunity to be a positive ROLE MODEL for the younger generation.
We can CHANGE LIVES on a DAILY basis.
We create ALL PROFESSIONS.
We are lucky to be surrounded every day by children who offer us UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
Okay I’m getting a little caught up in my emotions here…
That’s how I’m feeling right now. How blessed I am to have a job where I get to work with precious, young, and impressionable souls on a daily basis.
Not only do I go to work every day to earn my paycheck, but I also LOVE THOSE KIDS. It’s just part of the job.
Teachers typically spend more waking hours with kids than kids do with their own parents during the school year! We KNOW those babies, what makes them happy, what they struggle with academically or emotionally, what life is like at home, who is friends with who, and favorite recess activities. We are the protectors, the role models, the comforters, the teachers. We get emotionally attached because we spend the majority of our own days with our students.
ANYWAYS,
Tomorrow I walk out of my first school for the last time. The kids that I said “goodbye” to on Thursday will always be in my heart though I may never see them again. I’m having a really hard time accepting that.
I KNOW that I will build equally as wonderful relationships with the families at my new school, but as for right now, I’m breaking a little bit thinking about all of the kids that have touched my heart this year.
I’ve never been a huge fan of change, even change that I have chosen for myself, like this one. At least this change comes with so many great things… like GETTING MARRIED!!!!!! Yippeeeeee!!!
When I was cleaning out my desk last week, I found a letter that I wrote to myself the week before I started my first year of teaching. (It was an activity that my principal had us do.)
Stay positive, my friends! And if you are still in school, hug those babies extra tight for me!
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