Why I'm A Teacher: Part 3

Last week school started. The first week is always kind of ho-hum for me. You'd think it would be more exciting, since I'm starting fresh with 46 new students and I get to meet them and start to learn their personalities and academic needs. While that is interesting and challenging, it's also a bit annoying.

Imagine buying an old clunker of a car. You rebuild the engine, give it a new paint job, redo the interior, install a lot of upgrades, etc. You spend at least 12 hours a day doing this, you pour your heart and soul into it, and ten months later, you barely recognize it. It's become something very different from what it was - different in a very good way. You're about to take it for a test spin when someone comes along, takes it, and gives you another clunker. You've got to start all over again.

That's a lot like how the beginning of a new school year feels. Like that.

On Friday we had a huge pizza party for my two classes from last year to celebrate their outstanding results on the CST (California Standards Test). I had promised them that if they did well, we would have a party.

At this party one of my former students, S., gave me a folded up piece of paper and told me to read it. S. had been in the United States for about a month and knew not a word of English when she first entered my classroom last August. By June, she was already reading at a second grade level in English and was one of my top math students.

Below is what she wrote. I'm including it here because I want to be able to look at it on those days when I feel like my job is just impossible.

Dear Mr. Evans,

I just want to say I'm so thankfull for show me a lot of new things that I never see on my life. I remember my first day on the school and I didn't know how to express that I'm so happy to be on a new school on English, but thanks to you Mr. Evans I learned how to speak to write and a lot of stuff. I'm really proud of my self for having a great teacher like you. Thanks for helping me a lot. I really enjoyed to be with you.

Love
Your student
S.