Comments

Oh I know, Kelsey. The end of the school year reduces me to tears these days. When you are a teacher, or when you are a student, or when you have kids in school, it's a time of change. People move, teachers change, and certain constants in one's daily or weekly life just evaporate, like that. I taught my year-end, last class of first-graders today. When I showed up at their door to take them to their last class with me, they all rushed to me and hugged me, all at once! One girl was crying! I said, "Stop, you guys, I feel like a Teletubbie, BIG HUG!"

What is it about the passage of time that is so sad, and what is it about growth that is so bittersweet?

Kelsey, that was beautifully written. I know just how you and Laurie feel. I become so very attached to my students and, sometimes, their parents. I didn't expect the bonds to be so strong when I started teaching. My students are like extended family. The feelings are especially intense for me because I have no family of my own. My students have been blessings to me in more ways than they will ever know. Beautifully written. Loved the touch of humor! It’s very a small world and I bet you’ll see your students again somewhere in future. Just imagine one day this 5-year old girl becomes a mother and brings her 5-year old child to your door for violin lessons, wouldn’t that be something! Children do listen, do learn. Just a casual comment (let's hope positive) can change a child's life.

I commented off the cuff to twins, brother and sister, just as they were entering High School. "Why don't you run track." Four years later the parents saw me and announced that their boy just took the 100 yard dash at state and set a record.

As a teacher, think of the sum total of what you have "planted" in your students; awsome.