They Will Remember How You Made Them Feel

Today's Big Time Literacy Blog Challenge (#BTBC14) is supposed to be to tell a story about a memorable student.

I was a fourth grade classroom teacher for seven years. During that time I had approximately 190 students, plus all the students that came to me for science, reading and math when we had a departmental model. I can't say that I remember each and every one of them without looking at a class composite. They all gave me something. I never met a kid I didn't like (I never understand when teachers say they hate a kid - I've been very frustrated by my students, but I don't think I ever said I hated any of them). I hope I gave them something too. I am very lucky to teach in a district that hires many of its alumni and community members. I currently work with six former students. Two of them are currently in administrative roles. Not all of them are teachers. Two of them are in our custodial and maintenance department. I see most of them on a regular basis. Most of the time when I look at them I see the student that they were, but I am so proud of the adult they have become. I know it is not all because of me. They had great parents and came from great families with a strong support system in place. As a young teacher I always envied the my colleagues who had students come back to visit them. Usually that was from an exiting grade, either fifth or eighth grades in our district. I am so happy that I see some of my former students on a regular basis and they keep me updated on some of the others that they still talk to on a regular basis. I am honored to call them colleagues! When we have site visits I am always quick to point out to our visitors my former students and those staff members that are D100 alumni.

One of the proudest moments of my career was being recognized at our January Institute day by one of my former students +Bill Jacklin , who is now a PE teacher in our district. He gave a speech in front of the whole district about how +Jane Monaco and I impacted his life. He told a funny story about when he was a student. At the 8:30 mark in this video Bill starts his speech. You can see in the video that I am wiping away tears. I was so touched to be honored by Bill. +Zach Pros , the boy the man, on the far right in the picture above is also a former student. We were presented with flowers and a plaque.

I have this plaque hanging in my office to remind me that every day I have an impact on the lives of the children of South Berwyn, and that I should make all my interactions positive ones. Your students may not remember what you taught them, but they will remember how you made them feel. 

Taking on the Blogging Challenge

+Michelle Brezek of Big Time Literacy has challenged all the bloggers in my district to blog daily in the month of July. You can check out the details here. I think this is such a great idea. She did a professional development session yesterday. She helped 10 staff members create 7 new blogs for our district. We have such great stories to tell in South Berwyn. This is very exciting! Writing on a daily basis will be a challenge for me, but I love a good challenge.

For the Challenge, Michelle has provided some prompts in case we don't know what to write about. I missed yesterday's but I have already covered that topic in this blog. The prompt was, "Tell us what brings you to your new blog! ". Today's prompt is, "How long and in what capacities have you been in education? "

I started in 1990 as a reading and math Title 1 teacher. I provided small group instruction for those needing a boost in reading and math. This was a teaching assistant position. When I started there were not a lot of teaching jobs available in my area. The following year I was a teaching assistant in an intermediate cross categorical classroom. The students in this classroom had learning disabilities. I had finally finished paying my dues. My third year I was a first grade teacher. I took over for a teacher who was on medical leave. First grade was not really my strong suite. I was not that great with the younger students, but again I looked at it as a challenge and I needed a job. My fourth year I changed buildings and moved to fourth grade. I was finally in a grade that suited me perfectly! I believe every teacher has their perfect grade. I stayed in that position for 7 years. I really liked teaching fourth grade, but after having two children I felt it was time to leave the classroom and go into a support role. In 2000 I became the computer teacher. I should have started a blog then. If I knew then what I know now, right? I enjoyed that role immensely. I traveled between two buildings but that didn't seem to matter at all, in fact I really liked being a traveling teacher. As our district moved to the 1:1 model my position in the computer lab was no longer working. I saw the writing on the wall, soon my position would no longer exist. I moved into the role of instructional coach where I am now. It is the perfect blend of tech, kids and curriculum for me!