The last two days have been a bit stressful. For the second time this school year it was time for Parent/Teacher conferences, and although most of my students are doing quite well, conferences can be, well…unpredictable. Things can be going along swimmingly and then you have one tough conversation that throws a wrench in things. So, I've learned to approach these interactions with parents cautiously and to invite the students to attend so that parent/teacher conferences become less of a discussion about grades and more of a conversation about learning. Overall, this has been a positive improvement and my Thursday night and Friday seemed to fly right on by. Yes, there were some difficult discussions to be had, but for most there were few surprises and I love being able to give positive feedback about students and their progress with the kids present since I'm not always able to do this during class.
I think I sometimes forget that conferences can be a nerve-wracking experience for the students too, and it warms my heart to see their body language when I get to deliver good news to their moms and dads who are wrought with high expectations for their teenage prodigies. It was also fun to hear from parents that the students, especially the grade 9 kids, are enjoying science (I teach the physics portion of our course)! We are hooking them early, which is part of my goal as a teacher of the underclassmen. Last night I was laying on the couch nursing a throbbing headache, thanking God that another round was done when I heard an email come through. Curious, I grabbed for my phone and gave it a quick read. It was from one of my students who has struggled academically this year but, with quite a lot of determination and hard work, is making it through. She was writing to thank her teachers for a wonderful conference experience. Despite being very nervous entering the ordeal, she was very thankful to receive positive feedback and honest suggestions for improvement. Here's a bit of an excerpt from the email, I hope she won't mind me sharing it: "I would like to say how thankful I am to have each of you as my teachers. I really am. Without you supporters and such caring teachers, I would not have made it to where I am today. I am beyond thankful and I can feel the overflowing support and care you teachers give...Once again, thank you so much for helping me to being a successful Freshman. I have truly enjoyed working with you teachers and still am. It's amazing and appreciated."
Receiving that email really made my night--I could have reached out and hugged that child through my computer:). In fact, I was just discussing with my colleagues what amazing students we have during our lunch break at conferences. I'm getting used to having my students thank me at the end of a lesson! Weird, right? What this really makes me think about is how grateful I am to have had such incredible teachers myself--the kind of people that truly inspired me to work harder and learn for the sake of learning. They are the reason that I ended up at the front of the classroom and where I learned how to do what I'm doing today. I think about those amazing people often and I know how blessed I am to have so many outstanding teachers in my career as a student.
Having received that thank you note from my student has prompted me to thank my own teachers…the ones that started me on this path. I think back to elementary school and the teacher that really stands out to me is Mrs. Summers. Fifth grade was a transition year--I had to change schools because of boundary changes and what could have been a terrible year, wasn't, because of her kind and compassionate nature. She just had a way of making you feel cared about. It was the relationships I built that year that got me through a difficult 6th grade year and prepared me for the years ahead.
Two years later, I went off to junior high. Another transition. This is where my first real teaching mentor entered the picture. I was so lucky to have Patti Goeller for homeroom, Language Arts, and Leadership during my seventh grade year. She was a pretty new teacher--I think it may have been her first full year of teaching when I was her student. Every so often we convinced her to let us play cards during reading days in homeroom (bonus points for her there) and I discovered what it was like to really be a part of student life in my school through student council. She took the time to invest in me as a student and as a person. Patti and her husband were the first teachers I knew to teach abroad, and that really stuck with me. Long after I left junior high, we kept in touch and when it was time to look for my first job I headed to Spokane, Washington. As luck had it, I landed an incredible position teaching at the same school as Patti's husband. That first year was a tough one, but I had my steadfast mentor to call on for help with setting up my classroom, classroom management tips, or lesson ideas. She always seemed to know when I was working too much as my classroom phone would ring with a request to stop by for dinner on my way home from work:). Just last week I knew it was time to pick up the phone for a chat with my friend…it had been way too long and I needed to hear a familiar voice and to catch up. I cannot tell you how much I miss being able to drop by, curl up in a chair in the Goeller's living room with a dog at my feet and boys running around, and just have a chat. How time flies…
Another of my junior high teachers made a special mark on my life as well. As a ninth grade student I took Advanced Freshman English. I've always considered myself a "well rounded student", but this class stretched me in ways I never could have imagined. It also opened up the world to me--literally. Mrs. Gardner was probably one of the most challenging teachers I've had because she pushed all of us beyond our limits, especially when it came to writing. I still remember the paper I composed comparing Shakespeare's Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet, and Katherine, from Taming of the Shrew. It was one of my proudest achievements from grade 9 and it made it onto the excellent papers board! I will also never forget that I took my first trip overseas with Peggy and a group of student travelers, and thus began my wanderlust. Exactly ten years after that first trip abroad I returned to all of the Italian sites from our trip with my own group of student travelers and I haven't stopped globe hopping since. I still send Peggy a postcard from each of my new travel destinations.
When it came to teaching science, I learned everything I know from Marcy Tell and Paula Roberts. After having only male science teachers, and not necessarily loving the subject, I entered my sophomore year of high school a bit apprehensive to take chemistry. I was so fortunate to have an amazing science/math block class taught by Marcy (then Martone) and Shawna Dehler. That year I learned that I really loved Chemistry and I decided I might want to become a teacher in my future--a goal that followed me in the years to come. Many more science classes were taken in my high school and college career, but none inspired me as much as that year of chemistry. To this day, I love teaching my ninth and tenth grade students the fundamentals of science and I still use some of the same labs and activities from when I was a student. When I went on to get my Master's degree, I was placed with Paula Roberts at Hillsboro High School for a great year of student teaching. I learned so much about who I would become as a teacher, about forming relationships with students, and that I still had a whole lot of learning to do! Frankly, I was scared to death to get in front of the classroom until Paula took me out to lunch and gave me a pep talk that went something like…It's time to get over yourself and get up there! It has been ten years since then, but I still remember those first kids and those early experiences that shaped me into the teacher I am today.
Once I entered the classroom, I found my colleagues to be such incredible mentors. Some of my most profound learning came during my second year in the classroom beside my Ferris High School colleagues. During my four years on top of the South Hill in Spokane I gained so much insight about collaborative planning and teaching from the ninth grade science ladies (Darci, Jaime, and Lisa K.) and the chemistry guys (Chris and Chris). What a gift those four years were! In my current job, I've become more independent but I still have a wealth of knowledge in my colleagues to draw on when I feel the need. The discussions we have behind closed doors in the science office are often comical, refreshing, and nerdy. It's a good place to be.
I am now 3/4 of the way through my ninth year of teaching and I can hardly believe it. Nearly a decade at this profession and I've taught over 1,000 students. How is it possible? I'm not certain that I've had the same profound impact on any of my students that my teachers have had on me, but I do feel pretty blessed to enter the classroom each day. This job certainly has its ups and downs and although I've struggled over the last few years to maintain the level of joy and energy I had at the start, I know it's what I've been called to do. I think I need that reminder every once in a while and the email from my student that came after conferences served as just that…so, here's to the teachers. For all those that I've had the pleasure of learning from and teaching with, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for inspiring me. You are truly the best!
