You may or may not know that I moved down from the high school level to the middle school a little over three years ago, which means that this August, I began my fourth full year of life as a middle school teacher. It's at times been a rough transition, going from an "all for themselves" mentality to a more team-oriented "one for all" situation. It's also been one of the most rewarding changes of my life.
This year marks the first year I have felt a breath escaping from my lungs as I teach, the first year I feel truly comfortable in front of my students, and the year I hit my "middle school stride." Until now, I've felt like I haven't pulled my weight and that I haven't contributed nearly what I could to either my teammates or my fellow English colleagues. Getting my footing in this brand-new world was about all I could muster. Over the last three years, I have been helped in so many ways, and I am so incredibly proud to say that I am on my way, giving back, fitting in, and loving it!
I also wanted to share with you the highlight of my week. I've been part of a team called the "Fireflies" for the past three years. This year, because of some administrative initiatives, we've combined with the other 8th grade team, the "Yellow Jackets." I love the idea of having the same policies, habits, and activities as the other 8th grade team; it has really unified us (even more than we were before) and has lit a fire under my firefly teacher tush.
I have stepped up to the plate to take more responsibility this year than I have felt comfortable taking in previous years (which might be partially due to the fact that two of our team members are out on maternity leave). Whatever the case, it's allowed me to feel so much pride and confidence in what I am doing and contributing as a team member.
So....my highlight for the week is something that the Yellow Jackets have been doing for years now; an informal awards presentation that they've called "Buzzworthy Awards." Today, for the first time, we presented the "BUGworthy Awards" (because we're both bug-related teams, ha ha) in my room.
We piled all of the kids on our team into one room (some seated on top of desks and the rest on the floor), and presented such awards as "The Justin Bieber Fan Club President" or the "Picnik Princess" awards. The kids were so excited, sometimes shouting out who they thought had won each award (and usually, they were absolutely correct!) I even had one kid show me that he'd kept his award certificate with him, tucked safely next to his heart inside his jacket. WOW. (His award was the "Future Army General." That award meant something to him, because all of the men in his family are Army veterans).
The kids were shocked that we knew all of this non-school related information about them (but I think they were pretty tickled, too). I guess they didn't expect that of their teachers; it made me realize how much students appreciate being taken for more than a seat-filler. We need to pay attention to them as people (and that, in doing the BUGworthy awards, we're really creating stronger bonds between us and our students).
I love school.
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