Week 1 Prompt- Take a photograph of something you're proud of...explain what it means to you.
Psh. Easy peasy. Thanks for this topic Math Blogging Initiation team!
Right now I'm most proud of these drawings that are on my filing cabinet right behind my desk:
I'm in my third week of my second year of teaching. My first year teaching was...well not as bad as I expected if that makes any sense. These drawings actually represent one of the most memorable moments in my first year.
It happened during algebra block (two hours of math for students with low math skills). I had a paraprofessional with me in the classroom; he was the one with a sense of humor. One day in March, he tells his station (algebra block is taught using stations) that it's my birthday. So they secretly drew these birthday cards for me while I was teaching in my station. I really didn't know what was going on. At the end of class, I was given my birthday cards AND the kids sang happy birthday to me.
As you might have guessed, it was not my birthday. My birthday is in December, but I just couldn't tell my students the truth after all their efforts. It took a lot of self-control to hold back laughter.
It means a lot to me now, because I see these kids on campus and they say hi to me or tell me that they miss our class. This just helps me realize that I did make an impact my first year, and I hope to go even further this year.
Oh and my paraprofessional is now an official teacher this school year. You better believe I will get him back if I ever have to cover his class!
I was hoping someone would pick this prompt. I love this, because it's so personal and has so much meaning. I would have just died of happiness if my kids ever did something like that for me. No wonder you treasure them!
ReplyDeleteIt makes you feel good! Freshmen are so misunderstood, and this is a great example of their thoughtfulness.
DeleteHaha this is so funny!! Kids can be so sweet sometimes and it's moments like that that just make it all worth it.
ReplyDeleteA couple years ago I was having a really bad day and a couple kids saw me talking to another teacher about it. So during their class they drew "We Love You Ms Rubin" on a sheet of paper and passed it around during class without me knowing and got everyone to sign and write on it. They gave it to me at the end of class and it totally made me tear up it was so sweet of them.
I keep stuff like this in a binder or hanging in my room so that when you get stressed about stuff you can look at it and remember why you're there. :)
Aww! I would've cried haha. I don't know if my freshmen would go that far, but I'm glad your kids did that for you. I like your binder idea! I'll use that to keep these good memories.
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