Last Friday, I drove home wiped. Drained. Empty yet full. It was a day like no other, and I hope to relish in it for a while.
First period began with our Friday dance party. Yes, you read that right. The 1600 hall at Hebron High School begins Fridays with Rebecca Black's YouTube classic "Friday"! We sing, we dance, we embarass students as they enter class. We have so much fun! And while those kids may hang their heads as they pass, they also get a tiny chuckle out of their teachers being fools and letting loose. It's good they see us this way.
During class, the dreaded moment arrived. A student I taught as a sophomore and had the pleasure of teaching again as a junior withdrew. He'd warned me it was coming. I tried hard to persuade him not go to, even offering to call home and pass on that persuasion, but no. It was happening. Moments before his departure, he handed me a letter I'd assigned a week earlier and asked me to read it while he was still there. I swallowed all the lumps in my throat as I read, "My request for this class is for you to spread your wings like a baby bird and begin a new journey with all your students... After all, without the Mrs. Friend that I know and love, then your class could never feel like a safe heaven, and I'm talking about the books and the people who walk through your brown door."
Gulp.
"You're like my book mom in a cool, nerdy way. I will miss you."
When the pass came telling him his Hebron time was concluded, he high fived a few buddies and then bear hugged me in front of the whole class. And then he left.
I cried. Kids aren't supposed to see me cry in week two! But first period sure did.
Second period Friday was a sprint. We experiemented with my favorite Fishbowl Friday as quickly as possible before running to stand in lengthy lines to take our yearbook pictures. We made it back with a few minutes to spare to talk books and upcoming writing projects. The bell rang, I yelled, "Happy Friday" as always, and they were off. Then, I turned to click to the next set of slides for my Advisory class and found a gift on my desk! A delighfully purple bag of Doritos sweet and spicy chips with a post-it note on it: from Mario. Mario, whose gigantic smile lights up our class every day. Mario, who asks smart questions and laughs along. Mario,who always shares a chip with me when he's snacking. Mario left me the whole bag. Wow.
Advisory, then, found me smiling to myself while busting into that perfect purple bag. And then Meredith approached. "I know you didn't ask for a letter from me like I offered on Twitter the other day, but I wrote you one anyway." You see, Meredith has a true kind heart, and in the midst of Kindness Week, she offered via Twitter to give handwritten notes to anyone who found themselves needing one. I praised her for such a cool move, and in turn, she wrote to me!
"When I think of you, I see you as a friend more than a teacher. Yes, you are older than me and it is your job to teach me, but the way you treat us as an equal and not as a student who is 'below' you truly means a lot."
I cried. Meredith hugged me with her usual fierceness, and we smiled those knowing smiles at each other. I love my Advisory group, and I'm so happy that they are mine and that they put up with my silliness and cheese.
Later in Academic Decathlon, my heart burst! Our team floored us. They blew us away. They could not have done a more impressive job on a project we gave them. We've got lots of new administration this year, so we invited the assistant principal in charge of Ac Dec to class and prepared one minute quick speeches over the various aspects of Ac Dec in order to educate her on our program. While we were at it, we figured we'd invite our new head principal too, and so both ladies arrrived with grins to meet our kids. While we'd give them pratice time and organized them appropriately, we really had little idea of what they had in store.
Wow.
Our Decathletes dazzled our adminstrators with good humor and heartwarming stories. They gave the facts and details as well as the intangible parts of what makes our nerdy teams so special. "The best part of Academic Decathlon is the opportunity to witness incredible growth in our teammates and in ourselves," Diya sputtered through her own tears.
With them, we adults laughed and cried (ok, that was only me) and grew in appreciation and pride for what an oustanding group of kiddos they are. I could not have predicted better. I couldn't be more proud.
Finally, once the bell rang and I was pretty dried of tears, I rambled into the hallway to lean against a wall and giggle with my teacher friends. We told stories of our week, we reminisced about the old days, and we even found some ancient pictures of a few of us. My loud laugh made multiple appearances, and I remember thinking how lucky I am to teach with such fun people.
It was on my drive home that I felt my body let go. Melt into the driver's seat. Unhinge my jaw and breathe deeply.
What a day. What a week. What a start of school! My buddy Courtney pointed out that it's often when we are worried about so many other things that those special, important moments arrive to lift us up just exactly when we needed it. Friday was most certainly that day. And here I am still thinking about it. Still replaying parts in my mind. And even writing about it! Again!
It was exactly what I needed.
First period began with our Friday dance party. Yes, you read that right. The 1600 hall at Hebron High School begins Fridays with Rebecca Black's YouTube classic "Friday"! We sing, we dance, we embarass students as they enter class. We have so much fun! And while those kids may hang their heads as they pass, they also get a tiny chuckle out of their teachers being fools and letting loose. It's good they see us this way.
During class, the dreaded moment arrived. A student I taught as a sophomore and had the pleasure of teaching again as a junior withdrew. He'd warned me it was coming. I tried hard to persuade him not go to, even offering to call home and pass on that persuasion, but no. It was happening. Moments before his departure, he handed me a letter I'd assigned a week earlier and asked me to read it while he was still there. I swallowed all the lumps in my throat as I read, "My request for this class is for you to spread your wings like a baby bird and begin a new journey with all your students... After all, without the Mrs. Friend that I know and love, then your class could never feel like a safe heaven, and I'm talking about the books and the people who walk through your brown door."
Gulp.
"You're like my book mom in a cool, nerdy way. I will miss you."
When the pass came telling him his Hebron time was concluded, he high fived a few buddies and then bear hugged me in front of the whole class. And then he left.
I cried. Kids aren't supposed to see me cry in week two! But first period sure did.
Second period Friday was a sprint. We experiemented with my favorite Fishbowl Friday as quickly as possible before running to stand in lengthy lines to take our yearbook pictures. We made it back with a few minutes to spare to talk books and upcoming writing projects. The bell rang, I yelled, "Happy Friday" as always, and they were off. Then, I turned to click to the next set of slides for my Advisory class and found a gift on my desk! A delighfully purple bag of Doritos sweet and spicy chips with a post-it note on it: from Mario. Mario, whose gigantic smile lights up our class every day. Mario, who asks smart questions and laughs along. Mario,who always shares a chip with me when he's snacking. Mario left me the whole bag. Wow.Advisory, then, found me smiling to myself while busting into that perfect purple bag. And then Meredith approached. "I know you didn't ask for a letter from me like I offered on Twitter the other day, but I wrote you one anyway." You see, Meredith has a true kind heart, and in the midst of Kindness Week, she offered via Twitter to give handwritten notes to anyone who found themselves needing one. I praised her for such a cool move, and in turn, she wrote to me!
"When I think of you, I see you as a friend more than a teacher. Yes, you are older than me and it is your job to teach me, but the way you treat us as an equal and not as a student who is 'below' you truly means a lot."
I cried. Meredith hugged me with her usual fierceness, and we smiled those knowing smiles at each other. I love my Advisory group, and I'm so happy that they are mine and that they put up with my silliness and cheese.
Later in Academic Decathlon, my heart burst! Our team floored us. They blew us away. They could not have done a more impressive job on a project we gave them. We've got lots of new administration this year, so we invited the assistant principal in charge of Ac Dec to class and prepared one minute quick speeches over the various aspects of Ac Dec in order to educate her on our program. While we were at it, we figured we'd invite our new head principal too, and so both ladies arrrived with grins to meet our kids. While we'd give them pratice time and organized them appropriately, we really had little idea of what they had in store.
Wow.
With them, we adults laughed and cried (ok, that was only me) and grew in appreciation and pride for what an oustanding group of kiddos they are. I could not have predicted better. I couldn't be more proud.
Finally, once the bell rang and I was pretty dried of tears, I rambled into the hallway to lean against a wall and giggle with my teacher friends. We told stories of our week, we reminisced about the old days, and we even found some ancient pictures of a few of us. My loud laugh made multiple appearances, and I remember thinking how lucky I am to teach with such fun people.
It was on my drive home that I felt my body let go. Melt into the driver's seat. Unhinge my jaw and breathe deeply.
What a day. What a week. What a start of school! My buddy Courtney pointed out that it's often when we are worried about so many other things that those special, important moments arrive to lift us up just exactly when we needed it. Friday was most certainly that day. And here I am still thinking about it. Still replaying parts in my mind. And even writing about it! Again!
It was exactly what I needed.
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