Best Day

Reflecting on the past six years of teaching I have experienced some of my best days and some of my most challenging ones, as well.  One of the most difficult years in my career as an educator occurred when I was teaching fifth grade in 2016-2017, but it also produced one of the best days I experienced as a teacher. It was the first year I taught fifth grade, and incidentally I was appointed team leader to a very inexperienced  group of teachers. I looped with several of the learners from my 4th grade class. There were many challenges including a new administration, a disjointed team and several major behavior issues. My class had ups and downs as we cried, laughed and learned together, but the one day that I will never forget is my students’ 5th grade promotion. For this occasion we have students write about a memory that stands out to them, and then a panel of teachers selected one from each class to read during their promotion. As parents, students, friends and family members were sitting in the audience my student approached the podium. This young girl was extremely quiet and had very little confidence when she entered my fourth grade classroom, and when she looped with me for fifth grade, I was thrilled to have her in my class. Her writing focused on how much I impacted her the past two years. She reiterated how no one ever believed in her and how some people told her she wasn’t smart. As she was reading her letter it was hard not to become emotional because she wrote about how I was the first person in her life to tell her she was was smart and could overcome any challenge that she might encounter. She went on to say how I never gave up on her and that she never had someone like that in her life. That is when I truly realized that despite the numerous challenges during that year or the failed lesson plans lessons that at the end of the day I made a huge impact on this student. When I am having a rough day I always think about her letter and know that I have the ability to truly impact and change every students’ life whether I realize it or not.

Posted By: Devon McCauley