Chip

If you ever needed a smile, this kid was sure to bring one to your face. More times than not, I couldn't follow up with a consequence with this guy because everything he did was just too dang comical and all I could do was laugh. And he knew that, too, smiling with his big dimples and toothy grin the whole time. 

Most days he was buzzing, literally buzzing- like a bee through his teeth, with hands and body flitting about in his chair. Man, did he make use of his space bubble... and his neighbors, too, for that matter. It was a miracle if I could coax him into getting more than a sentence written before the urge to chitter away overcame him. 

Our usual conversation consisted of me giving him "the look," him smiling dopily and saying, "What?" in his prepubescent shrill squeak, and me cracking a smile while saying, "reign it in." I think he thought I meant "rain," which provoked a, "but I can't swim," on more than one occasion. Explanations fell on deaf ears with this one. So, hopefully my letter to him will sink in. One can always dream.

Mr. Chip, 

I wanted you to know how much I have enjoyed you in my group this year. I know coming out away from your class was not the most awesome thing but I have loved watching you grow into the comedian you are today. When I first met you in fourth grade, I thought you were the shyest, quietest boy I had ever met. Now you are a strong, confident, and humorous young man. I cannot tell you enough how much I have enjoyed your humor.

You constantly make me smile, inside and out, even if I have to give you "the look" or tell you to knock it off. I love your ability to find humor in everything around you- your bubbly personality will get you far, if you learn to reign it in (control it).

Remember, there is a time and a place to be funny. Your new teachers won't know you as well as I do so you need to go slow. Show them that side of you that can (and does) work hard! You are smarter and more talented than you think, my friend! You play this silly joker but really, I know you're a good student. Secret's out! :) 

I believe you can do anything- anything at all. You have the mad skills, devilish smile, and the brain to boot! Work hard and you will accomplish great things- don't give up now! I can't wait to come watch you graduate from high school and COLLEGE!  I wish you all the best in middle school and beyond! 

Take care, Mrs. Teach

I already miss his jokes and smile. I truly looked forward to our conversations and checking in with him since most other adults found him... smart-alecky. I look forward to the day when I see Chip on Comedy Central, making a positive name for himself. Maybe he'll even tell some jokes about me. 

Purple Girl

This girl, man. She cracks me up. So shy, so observant, yet so much drama. I swear, every week there was a different boy and a different friend trying to "get with" that boy. "Get with" of course means texting, walking home together, and possibly holding hands (thank the stars).

Most days she would avoid recess and come chill with me in my classroom to draw on my white board (she is quite the artist), play computer games, write poetry, or just talk about her drama. She was my access to the inside world of sixth grade. Through all her woes and tales of deceit and treacherous behavior, I knew who was with who and what they were doing that they shouldn't be doing. It was great! 

On the other hand, she was also the looking glass for me into her home life, which is rough at best. With three younger siblings at our school, it was nice to have someone old enough to report how things were going. If you ever think life is not working out for you, just take a moment to think on her little life. She is split between two homes, one in a completely different city, spending a week at a time with each parent. On the off week, she has to ride public transportation for an hour with an older sibling to get to school and back home. When she is in town, she is living with her sibling, three step siblings, and one half-sibling, as well as three to five adults, some of which are less than awesome people. 

Last year was the worst and she would spend all reading class crying into her sweatshirt. Her and I grew very close, subsequently. She told me stories I wish I could unhear. Most nights I went home with some plot to steal her and her siblings away from the madness. Of course I never did, but I did work with some great social services people on her behalf. Thankfully, life has gotten much less sucky (her words) and she is able to giggle and smile with the best of 'em. She even returned to start sixth grade with pink and (shocker) purple streaks in her hair. So, with that, here is my letter to her.

Ms. Purple Girl, 

I wanted you to know how fantastic I think you are, as both a student and a person. I am so grateful to have known you the last 3 years and to have you in my reading class the last 2 years. It has been so fun to watch you grow into the delightful young woman you are today. 

I have truly enjoyed all of our conversations over the years, be it about boys, clothes, home life, or school stuff. You are one of the kindest and most warm-hearted students I have had the pleasure of teaching. I am constantly amazed at your patience and flexibility in your life at school and at home. I believe this, along with your beautiful personality, is going to take you far places in life. 

Just a few words of advice from someone who's been there: Boys will come and go until you meet the one for you- and he will treat you with the respect you deserve from the beginning. Friends, too, will come and go but keep the ones who are honest and make you laugh closest. Teachers are there to help you push yourself academically- never be afraid to ask questions or talk to them (just like you did with me!). Keep in touch, my friend! I can't wait to come to your high school and COLLEGE graduation! All the best in middle school and beyond! 

Take care, Mrs. Teach

I know this young lady will go far in life, as long as she chooses to ignore the negative influences in her world and uses them to make her stronger. I fully expect to shake her hand and give her a hug as she graduates from college because if any one of my kids can, it will be her.

WoW

The first of my four notes is to my student nick-named WoW, hopefully for obvious reasons. When I met him, he had just moved from a nearby school and was fresh blood, just like me. We instantly bonded over the newness of this place we had landed so unceremoniously. Well, that and he loved all the video games my friends were into. But his favorite game was World of Warcraft, or WoW. He would tell me of his epic battles and levels/characters in the game and how he had spent six hours working to achieve the next... well, I stopped listening because it was never really my interest, but bravo to him. He told me once at the beginning of this year, "Mrs. Teach, [World of Warcraft] is not a choice, it's a lifestyle."

Two weeks later, he was grounded and World of Warcraft was no more. Thankfully he reentered the world as a "normal" 12-year old and got into basketball, lost a bunch of weight, and actually turned into a well-rounded individual. He still loves dragons with a fierce passion, and speaks fondly of World of Warcraft but he says he has matured to more refined gaming systems like the Xbox 360 with its Call of Duty and Halo what-nots.

So, with that, here is my note to him. Not the most personal, but he has great role models in life (his sister is a nun... a NUN) so I didn't feel the need to get overly-sappy.

Mr. WoW, 


I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know how honored I am to have had you in my group the last 3 years. I have truly enjoyed watching you grow into a funny, confident, and supportive young man. You are a great friend to those around you and you are loved by all your classmates and teachers. Continue to be honest and work hard and you will go far in life. 

I appreciate all that you have done this year, too. You have made so much growth in your reading- you are one of my star pupils! I hope you continue to enjoy reading and learning outside of school. I look forward to hearing about all your adventures and seeing you graduate from high school and COLLEGE!

All the best in middle school and beyond! Take care, Mrs.Teach

Oh yeah, and he really was my star student. He went from reading at the first grade level for comprehension and fluency in fourth grade to reading at the sixth grade level as a sixth grader. To break it down for you, this kid made FIVE years growth in three years. Yeah, that's right. He's a mother-truckin' rock star.

Hey! Hi. Howdy! Hello.

Goodbyes... bleh. Tomorrow marks the last day of the 2010-2011 school year. A huge part of me is relieved and super excited about summer (and all the magic that comes with it), but there is a semi-decently-sized chunk that is utterly heart-broken. In fact, I don't think I have ever gotten so emotional over the end of a school year before. Seriously. Normally I am all packed up, summer dress on and sunglasses in hand, walkin' out the door with a "so long, and thanks for all the fish" kind of attitude.

But there are so many goodbyes happening this year. With budget cuts and our district allowing for early retirements, I am left feeling holey (not to be confused with holy, which would be the opposite, I feel). For one, I am losing my personal secretary. Granted, her and I did not have the greatest working relationship, but it is still difficult to lose someone who has been a part of your classroom for three years (since I moved to my school- over 20 before I even came).

An even harder blow- we are losing our principal, who has been tremendously supportive to my classroom and my students. I have worked for over five principals throughout my seven years in schools. She is hands down the most proactive and supportive administrator I have seen, especially in regards to special education students. I do not think I would be as successful as I am today without her guidance and support. Don't get me wrong, I love our incoming principal and am super jazzed about what is to come, but again, I feel like holes are being carved away with a melon baller.

What could be worse than a principal? How about a friend. Our counselor, whom I have grown quite fond of, is leaving to teach in Qatar. I know, she is a braver soul than I. My head spins when I think about next year and where I will retreat to when life is overwhelming. You see, aside from counseling me (and more than half the staff) for free, her room is also at the end of a dark hallway that few people think to look down. She is a kindhearted respite for many of us. I feel like someone is taking away my happy place; my tropical island in the middle of a turquoise bliss.

But worst of all, my awesome students. Even now, I am tearing up writing about them. Tomorrow I will stand next to the exiting principal, future principal, and three sixth grade teachers to shake the hands of 55 of the most challenging, and yet, fantastic kids I have come to know. And I will be a blubbering mess. Most of them I do not know well, but I have my four. My rockstar reading group that has taught me more about myself than I think I have taught them in the last three years. As part of their goodbye, I wrote them each notes in these awesome cards I found. (I don't think you understand how long I looked for pre-teen appropriate cards. They have to have the right mix of color, pop, and OMG.)

Eventually, I will share what I wrote to them. Most is repetitive because the message is the same- I believe in you and I am so honored to know you, blah blah blah. It's really more for myself that I will write it in here, so I can look back and remember how meaningful four medium-sized humans were on my singular existence. I am just amazed at the memories- laughter, tears, sideways looks, and an incredible amount of neurons firing and synapses being formed. They leave the biggest hole in my heart. Hopefully they carry some small piece of me with them, in which case, it was all worth it.

Chh-Chh-Chh-Chh-Changes

I take for granted the happy times in my life- the times when I can sit back, watch the world, and smile at the things around me. The last few weeks at school have been a blur, between the end of testing, trying to figure out what the hell my job really is since I am not sitting in front of a computer all day, and cramming in the last sacred moments of academic "bliss" before the chaos of summer washes over the students' (and teachers') minds. I've been trying to be conscious about those moments, in between the pandemonium.

Part of being conscious of the happy times is being aware of the reason they exist. I never really thought about the impact of change until I started working with kids who couldn't deal with it. And the more I work with kids who hate change (be it in schedule, programs, or people), the more I realize I, too, dislike it. Don't get me wrong, though, I still crave it, in some sense, but I am definitely a creature of habit. I cling to my routines, schedule, and the people in my life. 

I've noticed this year, more so than any other year, how affected my students are by the end of school, myself included. My sixth graders, especially. This group is no easy group- they have had a change in staff every single year they have been at my school, be it from maternity leaves, medical leaves, or just plain leaving leaves. They have been constantly "abandoned," for lack of a better word, by their teachers. And boy does it show. They aren't the most trusting group and they sure enjoy testing any adult to walk into the classroom. But once you have their trust, they will stick by you (and test your love and patience for them the whole time). 

So, as the days fly by and the hours of school remaining tick past me faster and faster, I cling to the times I have shared with this group of spitfires. Just the other day, my reading group was reminiscing of how two of the five were in my original reading group and have been since they were in fourth grade. We talked about how mean and scary I was, but now they say, "Nah, Mrs. Teach. You're beast. You're chill." (Apparently "beast" in this form, means "awesome," so there you go). Chip bragged about how annoying and raucous he has gotten, then proceeded to swivel his head back and forth until he fell out of his chair. Point taken, my friend. We pulled out their first writing samples where they wrote about bats on black paper (ooh! ahh!) and I explained that their letter formation reminded me of cave drawings. Oh my, how we did chortle! 

Yet, as we write the last compare and contrast essay (my, how we have grown from cave drawing-esque writing!), I see how much they trust me and each other. They take my advice and listen when I say, "You can do this. You've got this in the bag!" Before they would have fought me by crying on the table, begging me to tell them what to write. Now they ask each other, "does this sound right?" and how to spell words like "sporadically" and "eventually." What the heck happened to me having to spell "went" and "I'll" on the board for them? They've grown up so much, I can't hardly stand to look at them without tearing up (me = big, emotional ninny muggins). 

I will miss all of them more than I can express in words, even though their chattering butts will be the death of me over the next six days. They are the kids I have grown the closest with, whose families I know (and like) the best, and who I have taught the longest. Some of them are the highlight of my days, making me smile with their relationship woes, skinny jeans, and sassy attitudes. 

Change sucks, plain and simple. But I know they are moving on to bigger and brighter things and I can't wait to see where they go next.