It has been a while since my ramblings have found their way to these pages. After twenty-three years, I returned to the classroom. I did a short stint of teaching in the late nineties before we had our first son. He was followed by three more sons and a daughter. Staying at home with our children was the best- for us it worked. I know that for everyone it does not. However, I must be honest. Being a stay-at-home parent is not for the weak- mentally or physically.
A lot has happened in the education world in the past twenty-three years. Not to mention, the technology. To give you some perspective, I sent my first email as a sophomore at SUU and when I wrote my senior thesis, I packed a basket full of books for references. The internet was just gaining momentum then. Now, with a few clicks of the button, I have access to more information than I ever thought possible. It is thrilling, but also terrifying. Thankfully, my colleagues and administrators are patient and kind, and I am learning, slowly.
What else has changed? Now that is a loaded question for another day, but one thing has remained the same- my love of teaching and of my students. Now, that we are “knee deep” in summer, I miss my students. I look for them where ever I go -Dairy Queen, Home Depot, Bulloch Drug. Seriously, saying good bye to my senior students was tough even to the knot heads. I read a post on one of my more teacher friend’s facebook page which rang true for me. It said, “one of the hardest things about being a teacher that no one else thinks about: you make a little family and then you say goodbye. Every. Single. Year.
Don’t worry, I will be soaking up the summer and enjoying my time away from the classroom. I am sleeping in, taking morning slogs (I am so slow I don’t even jog anymore), and catching up on some reading and writing, Hopefully, I will sneak in some lake time and some mountain time. I will recharge my battery. But in the back of my head, I am lesson planning and thinking about the new families I will create this fall.
