5/24/18– The last day of ministry. It’s bittersweet, and because I love all my students, I decide to bring in goodies for each class.
8th grade- We end class early, I bring in cookies, and we play some mafia before a picture and a final farewell.
Student 1: Teacher, we will miss you so much.
Student 2: Teacher, thank you for everything.
Student 3: Sydney, I will miss you.
Me: *being hugged by all my students, thinks to myself* Y’all were never this nice before the cookies.
Student 4: *chases me out of the classroom* Teacher!! I will really miss you and I hope you have a nice trip home.
Me: *I can feel the emotions, and my eyes are watering*
5th grade- Again, we end class early, and I break out the cookies.
Me: Can we all take a picture!!
Students and Me: *sweetest picture*
Me: Ok, I will miss you all so much. Can I have one last hug from all of you?
Also me: *realizes I should’ve worded that differently as I’m being swallowed by a giant mass of 5th graders*
The tears are hovering
4th grade- Same deal
Me: I want one last picture before I leave!
Students: *immediate stampede*
Me: *pinned against the whiteboard with no way out*
I might be able to save the crying for when I get home.
Juniors: We ditched having class and went straight into having cake and playing mafia.
Me: I’ve loved working and hanging out with all of you so much. To be honest you were my favorite, because I feel like I’m truly friends with all of you. I’m super proud of each of you, and I…
Student 1: *sniffs and proceeds to empty the contents of his eye drops into his eyes and down his cheeks*
Me: *the tears, they’re coming* Ok, one last picture?
Student 2: *jumps out of his seat, runs to the front, and wraps me up in a hug*
Me: *oh no, the tears*
I say goodbye and make it out without crying. Then I see Lindsay…
Lindsay: *tears beyond tears*
Every senior: *comforting her* Sydney, will you cry too?
Me: No, I’m ok, I think I’m good.
Seniors: No, you should cry.
Me: *cries every single day that weekend*
5/16/18– Come back to school after a Monday off, and a Tuesday of not feeling well. I enter my 4th grade classroom, and…
Student 1: Sydney!! I thought you left us!
Student 2: Sydney!! You’re here!
Student 3: *walks up with both hands out for a loving embrace* Sydney!!
Me: *turns around just before the student makes contact*
Student 3: *unknowingly lands hands right on the girls*
Me: *awkward shimmy to relieve an awkward situation*
Now everyone’s quiet and we’re all just kind of looking at each other awkwardly.
5/11/18– At the dance concert, watching all of the students dance, and they’re doing so well. My fifth graders go on to perform, and seriously, these kids could win America’s Got Talent.
Student 1: *shimmying the hardest he’s ever shimmied in his life*
5/10/18– Waiting for my fourth graders to settle down for class. One, sitting patiently, turns and just looks at me.
Me: *winks with the tenderness of a ‘good job’ hug*
Student: *immediately winks back with a nod of his head and a raise of the eyebrows*
I laughed so hard.
5/9/18– One of my juniors is upset because he’s been asking me to show him the worm and I did it without him there. So now, I have to make it up to him.
*in a small grassy area out of sight of the entire school, with Lindsay, and two of my juniors*
Student 1: Ok, let’s see it.
Me: *seriously can’t believe I’m doing this again*
I proceed .
Students: *applaud*
My seniors walk up, realize what I’m doing, and get way too excited.
Senior: Sydney, you have to do it again.
Juniors: Do it again!
Lindsay: *no help at all, just laughter*
Teacher: *walks up, then en Espanol* You all need to be in class.
Me: Oh, so sorry guys, you gotta go to class. Maybe another time.
Seniors and Juniors: *explains to teacher what’s going on*
Teacher: *looks at me with interest, holds out her hand for me to continue*
Me: *in shock that she would take interest in this over thier education*
Lindsay: *still laughing*
Me: *regretting everything, again I proceed*
Students: *applaud*
Teacher: *applauds with too much enthusiasm, then en Espanol* Ok, now go to class
Lindsay: *still laughing*
5/8/18– I suddenly find myself engaged (lol, no pun intended) in a dance off with one of the juniors on the soccer field after dance practice, with Lindsay and two other seniors judging.
Student 1: *sufficiently smack talking me* Sydney, I’m going to win
Me: *not as sufficiently smack talking back*
*music starts, he takes the honors of going first*
Lindsay: Syd, you have to do the worm .
*my turn*
Lindsay: Syd, you have to
Me: *laughs in disbelief of myself, drops in worm formation and proceeds to do said worm*
Amazed looks all around, and I now have a hole in my jeans.
5/2/18– I’ve told my juniors that I would teach them the game mafia and we would play one day in class. So, I’ve now basically created a monster.
Teacher: Ok, today we are going to continue with speeches.
*unified complaining*
Teacher: You have to finish them, whether you like it or not .
Student 1: Pst…Sydney…we should play mafia today?
Student 2: *vigorously nodding behind student 1*
Me: Not today, you have to do your speeches .
Student 1: *with all the feeling he can muster* But mafia is very important to us .
Me: And your education is important to me.
4/17/18– All my classes canceled because of dance rehearsals, back in fifth grade watching their rehearsal
All is mass chaos
Student 1: *still shimmying his heart out*
4/13/18– Hanging out with the seniors while they rehearse their dance
Student 1: You know how do dance like this?
Me: No
Student 1: Come here, I’ll show you.
Class: *practices dance for ten minutes*
The class soon gets bored of their current responsibility and turns on Cyclone
Student 1: *rolls her eyes*
Student 2, 3, 4: *all singing the wrong words and dancing around the room*
Student 5: *sitting at his desk dancing in his own world*
This proceeds for about five minutes.
Teacher *walks in*
Student 6: *pauses music and immediately switches back to salsa music*
Students: *immediately begin salsa dancing where they are*
Student 5: Don’t worry teacher, everything is under control.
4/12/18– Still helping the fifth graders rehearse
Teacher: *shows the boys how to put their hand around the girls’ waists for one of the moves*
Student 2: *looks at me with widened eyes* Teacher, I have to do that?
Me: Yeah, but you can just put your arm around her without actually touching her.
Student 2: *wraps arm around his parter, then proceeds to place just the tip of his pointer finger on her side* Is this ok teacher?
Me: Maybe use your whole hand….?
Student 2: No, I think this is ok for now. My mom said I can’t have a girlfriend.
Student 1: *still shimmying*
4/10/18– In my fifth grade class helping them rehearse their dance for the school recital happening in May
Student 1: *shimmies aggressively to ridiculously upbeat Columbian music*
Teacher: Uno, dos, tres, vamos, vamos!!!
Student 2: Teacher, like this?
Me: Yeah
Student 3: Teacher, do you like the dance?
Me: Yes, it’s very sassy.
Student 2: What’s sassy?
Student 1: *still shimmying*
Me: You
Student 2: Que?
Me: Nevermind.
3/28/18– In my fourth grade class, having a free day because it’s the last day before a long weekend and there’s no lesson plan for the day.
Student 1: *throwing paper airplanes, because he’s cool*
Student 2: Stop throwing paper airplanes at me!
Student 1: *continues throwing paper airplanes*
Student 2: *yells en Espanol, because maybe that’ll help*
Student 1: *continues practicing for his paper airplane pilot’s license, hits student 2*
Student 2: *grabs airplane, crumples, and promptly throws it in the trash can*
Student 1: *stares in disbelief*
Student 2: *smirks at student 1*
Student 1: *smirks back, pulls out 7 pre-made paper airplanes from his backpack and resumes*
3/27/18– In the fifth grade class that I help in. They are currently working on learning a rap they learned about irregular verbs, preparing for a rap battle. They want to do it today, but the teacher has postponed it.
Teacher: We will do the rap battle next week.
Students: No, teacher, please, today!! *other argument en Espanol*
Teacher: No, not everyone is ready.
Students: *continue to argue and beg en Espanol*
Teacher: This is not a democracy!
Students: *all sit with looks of disappointment but understanding*
Me: *what the junk, they understood that??*
3/21/18– Once again, at lunch with my fourth graders, trying to get another one to eat her food, in vain, because she’s very picky.
Me: You gotta eat your food.
Student: *shakes head* I don’t like.
Me: You don’t like it? Come on, you only have a little left.
Student: No, I don’t like.
Me: But it looks so good, and it’s good for you.
Student: Then you eat it.
Touche.
3/12/18– Whilst sitting at lunch with my fourth graders, trying to get one student in particular to eat his food.
Student: Teacher, [insert statement en Espanol]
Me: English, my friend, you gotta speak English (the staff wants us to speak English with the students, so this isn’t just me being a jerk)
Student: *walks over to other teacher* Teacher, como se dice [repeats statement en Espanol]
Teacher: replies to student in English in hushed tones
Student: *walks back to me* Teacher, my rice is weird.
