For The Kiddos

When I was young, I swore I would never teach. EVER. Now, I'm starting to think this is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life. Watching the kiddos evolve from children to young adults to adults is an amazing thing. They go from simplistic thinking, to thinking simple, to simply thinking. Wow, I hope that makes sense because it does to me. I see them walk in and telling me that the reason for things is "just because." Then later on they tell me "because I believe that..." When they leave my classroom, they walk out saying, "I believe that .... because....therefore,...." It's amazing!

And their social attitudes! Some of them spend months being quiet and before I know it, they're talking out loud! There was one girl who was so quiet, I was scared she was getting lost among the students, and one day I hear her voice rise up from the others. I don't know what shocked me more: the fact that she spoke loudly or the fact that she cussed. Her face turned bright red, eyes widened and a soft "I'm sorry!" followed shortly. This little incident caused her to open up just a little more and that's a good thing. Plus, I know who else to keep an ear out for a potty mouth.

These kiddos insist on me moving on with them, but the harsh reality is that once they enter their next year classes, they move on with their lives and I will only be a memory in their school days. I know. I've been at this for six years. I know how the game is played. There have been two students who have come back right before they graduated and told me that they were either sorry for the way they treated me as freshmen or  that they were thankful for having hope for them. Those were great moments that I can share here with you, but the true feeling that is associated with those moments are completely mine.

Every year I get this on my board. Luckily, I have a camera now to take a picture of these moments any time they happen. The little messages such as this one make me realize that this perhaps is my calling.

And that's okay with me.