I love my job, I really do, but there are days you forget why you sit in hours of meetings or dig through piles of data or stay at school late putting together a lab.
Then there are days that you are reminded of why...
A student came into my biology classroom last year at the beginning of second semester. He was coming from another class, and was moving down a level by coming to my class. I met with his parents very early on to talk about why he moved levels, why he switched teachers, what struggles he was having... I talked to the parents about procedures and rules in my classroom, sort of an overview of what a day in class is like. Together we worked on a plan to get him back on track. By the end of the year, he was doing great in my class! Not only was he doing great on tests and quizzes, but he was being social with other students, and was very helpful with some of the struggling students during lab. He came out of his shell, and he was excelling! It was fantastic!
Sadly, I have to say goodbye to most of my freshmen Biology students at the end of the year. Very few will end up on my roster again for Chemistry because there are so many Chemistry teachers and I teach very few sections. It's a happy surprise to see a few familiar names on the Chemistry roster, but I never expect it.
This week started pre-planning for this school year. I received an email from the mom of my previously mentioned Biology student. She asked who to contact or what she could do to get him into my class again for Chemistry. You could tell she was going to do everything to get him in my class, not because the parents wanted him there, but the student wanted to be there. This is not a normal procedure. With a huge school, the master schedule is complicated and those types of requests just can not be considered regularly.
Well... the least I could do was ask.
I went down to the right office, talked to the right people, and out of pure luck, his schedule was able to be easily changed to be in my class.
Again, out of pure luck, his dad stopped by school today. He subs regularly and lives nearby, so he stops in from time to time. He came to my room and I was able to tell him in person that I was able to get the schedule change made. Instantly, I could see the tears in his eyes. He was so grateful. He told me about how reluctant the student was to even go to school first semester, but by second semester he was excited and focused, and he loved my class. My class was the reason he was able to get back on track and get motivated to do well in school. My class was the reason that student went from failing science to loving science, went from hating school to loving school. My class made an impact on that student's freshman year. My class did that.
As much as I'd love to think I've left a lasting impression on every single student, being able to get confirmation that I actually DID do that for a student is simply priceless. It reminds me that there is a reason behind all the hours of meetings, planning, and prepping. You never know which students are going to come to your class excited because it's their favorite part of the day. There is going to be a student in the bunch that is inspired and grateful for you.
That is the why....
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