It made me really hope that I can inspire people in my life - students, family, friends, even strangers that I just do random acts of kindness toward.
A few minutes after I saw this and was thinking of how I hope I inspire people, I saw an email notification on my school email.
At first, I was going to ignore it since I don't like to do work emails on the weekend and it was around 11pm on a Friday night.
However, I saw the sender, and it was a student. I always look at those since there may be something wrong and I want to make sure the students are ok and don't need any help. It was from a student who has struggled at the school for three years. Had a child two years ago, didn't do too well last year, and at the start of this year, when she became one of my students, she was skipping school a lot.
The past few months, she has been on top of her game. She has turned in all of her work, some even early, and is passing the class. She also took part in the school's first open-mic night that I helped sponsor, and the school's first guitar concert where she played one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs ("Isn't She Lovely").
Yesterday morning, she came by my room before school and I told her how I had really loved her performance and told her the history of that song and why Stevie Wonder wrote it. I also told her how much I love that she is doing well in school at this point.
I was shocked to get an email from her so late, so immediately went to read it.
It almost made me cry.
I always try to greet the kids into my class with a smile and a warm welcome to Global or welcome to Social Studies or welcome to room 412 or some other happy welcome greeting. I don't ever really think about it making a difference, but I do love to see the kids smile back and some of them walk over to my door without a smile, but begin to smile or at least snicker at my giddiness when they see me and hear my greeting.
It is always hard as a teacher to realize when you make a difference in a child's life, but it feels great to know that it is so.
I guess I am an inspiration to some, just as I had hoped I was just a few minutes before seeing this email.
Makes me really love my job - especially in these last days as I have been stressed with end of year Regents Exam preparations.
Wow! You should print out this email and put it somewhere where you can see it when you're having a bad day.
ReplyDeleteI screen shot it, printed it, and am saving it for sure!
DeleteWhat a special email! I can imagine how that email made your evening (and will be with you always!). Keep doing what you are doing, as you touch so many lives as a teacher, and for everyone who emails or tells you, there are many who feel the same way but don't put it in words.
ReplyDeleteIt did indeed!! I shared it with my family, my colleagues, and my principal.
DeleteThank you!!
You inspired me to keep going. You were my first follower and the first person I'd never met who commented on a post. That meant the world to me.
ReplyDeletePeople remember teachers their whole lives. I would be willing to bet you have positively affected thousands of future adults.
You are so sweet!! I love reading your stories and am sorry for slacking. When I don't write, I don't allow myself the joy of reading others' work. I want to get back into it more this summer and will be reading and commenting on your work more regularly.
DeleteYou, too, influence many that you don' know about!
Oh, that's really sweet gesture from you student. High five, you! :)
ReplyDeleteI'll take that high five! Thanks!!
DeleteHi!!!!!! I am so sorry I haven't visited for so long when I used to read and comment on everything! You are still in NY. I hope you made it home to St. Louis this summer.
ReplyDeleteThis post brought tears to my eyes. You are a kick butt teacher! With one kid out of school and the other (hopefully) finishing college this next May, there are really only a handful of teachers they would think actually caused feelings your student described! They are lucky to have you!
And I do, and have always, missed your posts to the point if wondering where you'd gone. Cheers!!!
Thank you for stopping back in here, despite my writing slump! And thank you for the compliment. I commend you on raising your kids in a way that helped them complete their schooling!
ReplyDeleteI have been dealing with a lot of drama in my life as well as a current hellish gig of teaching called summer school - all of which I want to (and need to) write about soon. For some reason, when I don't write, I don't feel it is fair to read other people's blogs, so I am doubly missing out on the community that is blogging and miss it tremendously!
Glad to hear from you!
Hey, how are you. it's been a while. Hope you're good
ReplyDeleteThank you for checking in. I'm doing all right. Went through a lot this summer, but I'm actually in the process of writing a come back post. You are great and now that I'm writing again, I will allow myself to start reading other posts again.
Delete