The Payoff

All week school parking lots have been crowded with teacher's cars. All over the city, we have been busily unpacking the closets, loading up the bookcases, and stapling paper on the bulletin boards. We didn't have to be back, officially, until Wednesday. But many of us have dropped by a couple of weeks ago to pick up our keys and start the flurry of activity that can completely absorb 12 hours of your day if you don't watch out. Even Coolguy gets into the act with me by setting up my computers and organizing the tangle of wires and plugs so that my students can go on-line and practice their typing skills and do research.  He even cheerfully helped our two new Kindergarten teachers by using his wrenching skills to lower their student tables. The custodian was completely swamped and I knew CoolGuy could have it done in less than an hour. He's on their list of Awesome Dudes.

School starts on Monday, but we had open house Friday from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. That is when parents and children can come in and meet their teachers and find their homerooms. My students always ask where they have to sit because they don't see name tags on the desks. I reply that they get to choose their own seat the first week. Then, I point out to the parents how that allows me to figure out what the seating arrangement really needs to be, by separating people who are too great of friends and can't get a grip on the chatting...

One former student from last year dropped in to say hi, and he was accompanied by his older brother who was in my fourth grade six years ago. Now the older brother is going into his sophomore year of high school. We see one another fairly often because he walks over to the school to walk his younger brother home most days, and I'm the crossing guard. So, we've maintained a relationship. Plus, these brothers were both eager students who were witty and polite, so it's easy to stay friends.

I asked how he was doing, and he said fine, and then added something that I didn't expect. He said, "I really liked your class, [Mrs. Earthsignmama] because it was always so fun and interesting. I really learned a lot and got good at writing. My freshman English teacher last year wasn't very good, and I kept thinking that I wished you could come over and show her how to do it."  Wow! That was delightful to hear!

Just that morning, in a staff meeting, our principal had asked us to think of a great teacher we could recall from our school years. Then, we were to tell our table mates why that person was a standout and how they made us feel. Her point was that we have so much power in the lives of our students. We need to always remember that and be someone from whom they can feel love and acceptance, and then they'll be more likely to listen and learn.

So here was my former student standing there, not twenty or forty years later, but just a few years, telling me that I was someone who had meant something in his life and that my efforts had been appreciated and accepted. It is a great way to start out my eighteenth year of teaching 4th grade.