Teaching Keepsake

            At the conclusion of the 08-09 school year, my then fourth graders wrote notes to their favorite teachers; they would be moving on to our middle school and would have all new teachers.  Each of their teachers received a yearbook with pictures of them from over the course of the school year; in addition to this, each student got to write a note to a teach of their choice. 

            This particular note still means a lot to me, I had just begun my first graduate program and was feeling somewhat burnt out and overwhelmed.  I also drastically changed the physical and health education curriculum to match the new standards of instruction set forth by my then school.  I had also started a running program called Mighty Milers and a fitness club for girls.  My students were very much aware of the fact that I was enrolled in graduate school as was the norm at this school (community/family themed school); and were very supportive! 

However as the school year drew to a close and students were looking forward to their summer vacations, it seemed as if many of them had lost interest in physical and health education; especially the older students.  It was after our annual Spirit Day (Field Day) and the fourth grader’s stepping up ceremony that I received my yearbook and read this note which made me cry just a bit.  I had no idea that I had been viewed as a role model for many of my female students and while this is just one of the notes that had been written to me, this was the one that meant the most to me.  Jada was a hardworking student who struggled in physical and health education overall but never gave up or gave in; I had no idea that she saw me in this way and this note really touched me.  I felt and still feel when I receive notes like this from my students that I really did make the right career choice.