3 days left of school leaves me with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I never imagined I would love teaching middle school so much. I remember the call, then the interview, then the offer. I reluctantly accepted the offer to teach 8th grade English and promised myself to give it my best shot. Of course the first few weeks were pretty rough and my paranoia of being the crazy crying white lady quickly became a reality. And then there was a shift. I can’t quite explain it or pinpoint the moment when things changed. All I know is that I slowly started gaining respect. Maybe it’s idealistic, but I believe that people (even middle schoolers) want to be loved and respected. When love and respect is given, love and respect will be returned. I don’t want to oversimplify this, but maybe it’s not as complicated as people want to make it out to be. At any rate, I can honestly say that I love my students and not because they are my students, but I love them individually for who God created them to be. This will be one of the many challenges facing me this coming year. I will miss my kids like I will miss my family. I don’t have any idea what the lies ahead in the future and I think it’s silly to make plans at this point. Maybe some day I’ll teach again or maybe this was a season of my life that is over. It’s ironic that I feel like I have learned more than I have taught this semester. I wonder if my students realize how much of a teacher they were.
Kaylah, Laura, O’Bresha, Anita, T’Monja
