The time has come for the end of another school year. As I reflect back, I've had to remind myself that the reason I'm here, the reason I became a teacher, is because of the students. I am here for my students; not for administrators, not for law-makers, not for anyone other than the more than 100 students I care for in a given year.
Throughout the year, I experienced many frustrations, many setbacks, many irritations.
However, when I manage to separate the bad from the good, I'm constantly reminded that the real reason I'm a teacher is because of my students. I was reminded of this especially on Saturday, when I had the privilege, as one of the senior class sponsors, of being one of the "buglers" for the senior class. I'd had many of the students since they were sophomores, and being able to call their names for one of the most important milestones in their young lives brought tears of joy to my eyes.
At my school in particular, where many of our senior students do not make it through their senior year, counselors and teachers "adopt" seniors - we mentor them, we check up on them, we give them the proverbial parental ass-kicking that they do not get from their parents. This year, I had 58 seniors request for me to adopt them. As they checked out on their final day, I presented them with a small goody-bag of party favors, each symbolizing something important for them to remember as they left my care. The letter I included is below.
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