The end is near....

As I sit here on the last morning before the last day of the school year, I say a bittersweet good-by to a group of students that I have had for two years. I have watched them grow and learn and I am just so proud of their progress. When you are with students for two years you get to know them well but you also get to know their families. You get to know their challenges and their joys. You cry with them through death, and divorce and loss of jobs. You celebrate with them as they welcome a new child to their family and share with you about promotions, marriages and vacations from all over the world. You watch a few children move and another few join the group as strangers in your new land. You watch as they are welcomed into our community with compassion and tender care. You learn personal things that kids share with you sometimes things the family might rather you didn't know - and the families probably learn too many personal things about me that their child took home from our conversations! You meet brothers and sisters and extended family. You really have a sense of family with these children that you have loved and shared your time with. It's hard to say good-by but this year I feel so good about what these children are taking away. I feel they have a very strong academic foundation and they have grown as citizens able to navigate the relationships of a community. We are all better for the time that we have spent together. Maybe that's why I love teaching- because at the end of each year, regardless of the challenges or the successes - I know I am a better person in the end. I grow as much as the students do - maybe more! Thank you parents, for trusting me with your child this year. Thank you children, for sharing your life with me. I am truly the luckiest person in the world for having chosen this profession!