It is the first day of school here in Cabot School District. As I have been reunited with so many students after a long summer break, I am truly excited to begin another year that, no doubt, will be full of failures & successes alike. However, I am a bit upset today because one of my very favorite guys is not returning this year. He’s being moved to another school in the district because it works out time-wise for his parents.
He’s a great kid. I loved working with him because he was a competitor. He never quit on an assignment just because he hated it or he wasn’t getting it. He was by gum gonna finish that sucker! He has dyslexia so his intelligence & work ethic are not to blame for his troubles at school. He is actually quite the advanced mathematician (Last year in third grade he was able to perform on the sixth grade level). His mature intellect makes his life more difficult though. You see, unlike many of the students that I teach, he is able to fully grasp the social & emotional innuendo all around him. He is quite aware of the fact that he is every bit as smart as his peers. He is also aware that he has to go to “special ed.” & they did not. He knows he isn’t getting it, but more importantly, he knows that they know he isn’t getting it.
He was also having a particularly rough time dealing with his parents’ recent divorce. I liked the guy & I also needed some hours for my counseling practicum so I stayed after school a couple days a week to talk & listen to him. He wasn’t real keen on the idea of “counseling” at first, but we really hit it off. He loved sports & was a huge razorback fan so we always had a lot to say about that. I was one of his teachers so we talked school. Anyway, long story short, he really started opening up to me about school, family, friends, hopes, fears, everything. It was so cool to me to see that even with all the crap that life had handed him, he was truly still an optimist. There was a goodness & a purity about it. He really loved his peers. We came a long way last year, & I was really looking forward to picking up where we left off.
I’m sad that he left, but I’m determined that a good year still lies ahead for my students & me. I suppose there will always be plenty of work to be done even if it isn’t the work that I was wanting & looking forward to.
first day of school always sucks. it’s just a rule. a very sucky rule.
We started last week and I am still trying to get adjusted to this new year. I had a group of students last year, they were 8th graders, and I had had them in math since 6th grade (my first year teaching). So for 3 years I got to watch these kids grow and mature, now they are gone to high school. We all shed some tears the last day of school last year and they even made me a video. I miss them already but know that I can develop good relationships with my other classes this year. Stay strong!!