I have just completed my first year teaching fifth grade. The experience was awesome! My class was a self-contained EIP class (Educational Improvement Plan) of 14 students. The school in which I taught is a low socio-economical school that has Title I funding. The students that I encountered have been subjected to far more life experiences than I ever did at the age of ten and eleven! I honestly found some days difficult to maintain my emotions when considering what they were experiencing on a daily or weekly basis as they went back to their homes each day. So why would I use the word ‘awesome’ to describe my first year? That’s easy. There was great success! Each student, although distant and untrusting, worked toward an individual goal that produced a great amount of success for themselves.
After finishing my degree in Early Childhood – Special Education, finding employment was not promising. However, this one school and principal decided to take a chance on me. How grateful I am! Fortunately and unfortunately, I never dreamed of what I was really stepping into. In the beginning, I cried every day wondering what in the world was I thinking and how was I ever gonna reach these children and help them! They were so difficult and seemed to be uncaring and uninterested in what I had to say. These students were angry, tired, some were dirty, and several had very few changes in clothing. I remember emailing one of my professors and telling him that college taught me a lot, but not how to teach! He laughed and reassured me that I knew how to teach and that I had all the resources I needed.
It was not as reassuring to me as I would have wanted at the time. Nonetheless, these students and I eventually developed a relationship that was specific and personal to each and every one. It took a while to reach each one, but once I did the results were amazing. I was able to witness the greatest changes in behaviors, characters, and responsibilities for this class. They truly rose to the occasion in every area! They were diligent to work, even though there were times when I needed to push them even harder. They WANTED to succeed. They wanted to prove to themselves and others that they were truly contenders in this society. They succeeded!
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Ending the school year the students had grown in so many different areas and were racing for the finish line! Graduation day was here. My first class ever had become my Class of 2010 from elementary and Class of 2017 from High School! How excited I was for each of them. During our Honors Program several of my students received different certificates, medal, and trophies. The two that I was the most proud of received the Presidential Achievement Award and the overall Science Achievement Award! Needless to say, I cried.
In the end, my first year of teaching was great! My first graduating class proved to be even greater! I began with tears fear, hopeless, and confusion and I ended with tears of confidence, hope, and clarity. I don’t mind crying. My hope for the future… more tears.
