The Journey Home

My life has been a veritable smorgasbord of emotions during the waning days of the journey, a.k.a. the academic year.

Where do I begin?

Last Friday (5-18) I accompanied the 8th graders to Six Flags Fiesta Texas as there weren’t enough 8th grade teachers to chaperone. (Translation: said teachers wanted to stay behind and get their rooms ready for the e.o.y.) Fearless Leader solved that by placing those teachers in other classrooms to sub! The trip was uneventful, hooray!

Saturday night was the Spring Fling gala ~ nice to see that passengers could actually look fashionable. They took lots of pictures as this would be last time together outside of the classroom.

The last four days of instruction (!?!) were straining the limits of my patience but I had one relatively quiet day. I “tortured” said passengers with the benchmark exam and included an essay question: ‘Write about something you learned in Texas history this year and explain why this is important to you?’ Many wrote that their eyes were opened regarding discrimination and the civil rights movement. I was satisfied that they were able to take away something pertinent from the class. The last two days were spent introducing travelers to the eighth grade curriculum via the C.O.W. (Curriculum on Wheels).

Wednesday, we held a baby shower for Ginger (alias), a science teacher and my good buddy. I thought it was going to be low-key since it was sandwiched after class and before graduation. Wow did she rake in a haul ~ if she had birthed that baby, she would have been ready to roll!

Graduation was memorable for several reasons:

• Started @ 6:00 pm rather than 6:30 pm
• All the speakers were brief including our district superintendent’s speech
• This class was remarkable and will truly be missed
• The ceremony concluded in 85 minutes which is a record! I usually get home around 9 pm from these affairs but this year it was just a bit past 8 pm.

Thursday, the final day, was time to say goodbye to each individual class period. I made sure to be upbeat in my comments. We had a yearbook signing party for the last hour of the day out in the courtyard. It was very humid but no one seemed to mind. When the final bell rang signaling the end, I heard a moan from the crowd that it couldn’t be true. Trust me; the tears began to flow like Niagara Falls as the passengers realized the truth.

What is on the horizon?

I will get some of my same passengers next year! Yes, 8th grade is mine. I inherited Teacher X’s old room; he has been assigned to teach 6th grade but I truly don’t believe that is a good thing. FL made the decision but I am sure it is subject to change.

I need to have the room purified/exorcised as two teachers have been in residence and haven’t been too successful there. No need to add a third to the list. Since I have to change rooms, I have to work on Memorial Day to clear out my previous abode and be ready to meet the Tuesday, 3:25 pm cut-off. Not about to start a precedent by missing deadlines.

My vacation will be spent reviewing content thoroughly since it has been six years since the last time I had this opportunity. The ELL teacher and I worked together during the TAKS countdown and she is thrilled that we will get a chance to co-teach. She has offered to come in on Monday to help facilitate the move and to begin planning for the new year.

I was offered the chance to be a trainer in August for Social Studies staff development and I figured I would give it the old college try. It will give me a chance to expand my skills not to mention it would look great on my resume and the Teacher Self-Report component of my evaluation. FL actually said ‘Congratulations!’

In my post of 5-18, I stated that I didn’t feel successful in my teaching. The last week or so of school is quite tiring and most teachers are on auto-pilot. I received an overwhelming surprise to change my feelings of negativity. The passengers in the Language Arts classes were to write letters to their favorite teacher or write to an incoming student. Was I ever astonished!! Their letters spoke from the heart and were very affirming to say the least:

• “Ms. BA, I liked that you took time to explain things to us.”
• “I have had you for 2 years, let’s try for 3.”
• “You listened to us and respected us.”
• “I liked the poetry writing you had us do.”
• “You said 4th period was your best class…you made us the best.”
• “I appreciated your kindness…you would give students money to attend events without asking for repayment.”
• “I think of you as my second mom.”

I like to think of their letters as balm for the wounded teacher’s psyche, a salve that will re-energize me for next year. In retrospect, it was a very good year.

~buttefly angel~

p.s. I forgot to add that I will continue as the department chair!