Sometimes We Don't Realize...

Last week was The Week (capital letter WEEK).  Our big state testing week.  And I had to proctor.  Oh my!!  The anxiety was H.I.G.H.  I teach the lower grades, so this kind of testing is just completely out of my comfort zone.

Anyways....I went to pick up my assigned kids for their test.  I was serious.  I was focused.

Then I hear, "Hey, she taught me to read in second read." "Yeah! She taught me to read too."

I smiled. Kept walking. I was serious. I was focused.

It wasn't until the next day that those words came back to me.  In full force.

I'm a Title teacher.  And I LOVE it.  Don't want to do anything else.  And as much as I feel that I do connect to my students and they do see me as a "real" teacher, I also realize that I am not their classroom teacher.  So when they see me years later, I am okay with the little half waves and half smiles.  It is okay that they forget my name. I played my part and time rolls on.

My brain forgets too.  It is easy for my thoughts to get caught up in the state evaluations that have begun.  The pressure.  It is easy to listen to the bad press that we can get as teachers.  The pressure.  It is easy to listen to the parents that yell and say ugly things.  The pressure.

But then to hear those kids say that I taught them to read.  It struck me.  And I was so thankful.

I do realize, however, that it was not just me that taught these little children to read.  It was US.


The people that encourage, inspire.
The people that teach with us.
The people that blog, share, create.
The people that write engaging, motivating picture books.
The people that invented Post-its.
The people that sell discounted books.
The people that wrote the MILLIONS of professional development books.
The people that make markers, pens, and pencils.
The people that invented dry erase markers.
The people that laugh and cry with us.
The people that listen.
The people that believe.

Happy Teacher Appreciation week.
Thanks for all you do.