As a teacher, you never know the impact you can have on a student. Sometimes even the smallest gesture can have the most positive impact on a student. I learned this valuable lesson firsthand at the end of my first year of teaching. Last year, I had a girl who was very quiet, but once I took the time to talk to her and find out about her, I realized she was the sweetest, most caring and mature 7th grader I have ever met. She has gone to New Lebanon her entire school career but not very many people know her very well because she is so quiet. I heard through a series of teachers that she didn't really like coming to school because there weren't enough smiles and everyone was so negative towards each other and the teachers. Hearing this made me very sad, so I started talking to her any time I saw her. I would ask her how her weekend was, or what she had for lunch. I don't think kids should ever have the attitude that they don't like coming to school because it is a negative place. My classroom should be a safe environment and I want my kids to feel happy and wanted there. Anytime I talked to her, her face always lit up with a huge smile. She soon started talking to me about her upcoming mission trip to Mexico (again showing maturity beyond her age). I am the advisor for an after school group at our school that promotes positive relationships between students. She happens to be in the group, and one day after school we were working on presentations we were about to give to the fourth graders about transitioning to the middle school. While doing this, I noticed she started to take total control of the presentation and was cracking jokes and opening up like I had never seen before. The guidance counselor and I were in complete awe because we had never seen her act that way! After the meeting she came up to me and said that she could tell I was surprised by her behavior. I said I was and that I was very impressed with her ability to take control. She said that my classroom was the first room she had ever really felt comfortable in. She said I really made her feel important by always asking about her day and that I would never know how much my smiles meant to her. The rest of the year went by and we continued talking to each other and she slowly started coming out of her shell during class. Then on the last day of school, she gave me this letter, and I cried the entire time I was reading it. For me, it made the entire year worth it. While I want to teach my kids math, I also want to teach them how to be kind, caring, respectful young adults. I want to show my students that they are wanted, loved, and appreciated, and that I will always be there for them. And if I need to take time out of my day and stop teaching math for a few minutes every class period to show them this, then so be it. Because, the feeling I got when reading this letter, knowing I was appreciated, is probably the same feeling my students get when I show and tell them they are appreciated and that I care about their lives outside of my math classroom. Now that a new year has started, she has come into my room every day just to say hi and give me one of her precious smiles, which is something I look forward to every day! Last year was full of many ups and downs, but for everything I taught my students, they taught me at least one thing about teaching in return. Lessons and moments such as this one. Lessons and moments that I will be forever grateful for.
~Q.E.D.
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