June 2, 2018: Skit
The girl who changed my first year:
When I first wrote this topic I had one specific person in mind. One person who I claim changed my first year of teaching. Upon thinking about it more, I began to realize the multitude of people that changed my first year. Students, co-workers, friends and family.
I'm beyond lucky to have the friends and family I have. This year of teaching would not be the same with out the immense support I have received from all of you. Instead, it would look a lot like a fish washed ashore flopping back and forth toward water. I'm thankful for all of you and all the students who made my first year, one worth celebrating.
This post is about the one girl (student) who changed my life as a teacher. This girl, we will call her Skit (a nickname she wanted to be called after a conversation we had together) was in two of my classes. Lucky for both of us our time wasn't compressed to the fast 47 min of science but instead about an hour and half plus any 2 minute passing periods she may have stopped in to say "hi". (Which made her perpetually late for almost all classes).
Skit is a person full of attitude, kindness, and humor wrapped in a raw type of self-assurance, especially for a seventh grader. I was struck by Skit about two weeks into the school year, never afraid to speak her mind to me or her peers. The only problem was, she didn't use that confident and unwavering voice in my science class.
Finally, one day I asked what she wanted to do when she grew up "Move to LA and be a cosmetologist". My response, as seen on my face and probably every interaction after, was one of awe and great determination to get her there. As we talked about the basic science principles behind cosmetology, it seemed to light a spark beneath her.
That light then grew into her receiving awards based off of her behaviors in science class. She could do my hair or nails every Friday as long as she received a certain amount of points on her weekly paper. Those Fridays were time for her and I to talk about our weeks, I would read my blog posts and she would do my hair. That then turned into her asking or more like telling me, to write a post about her. So this is for you Skit, I know it's not as soon as I promised but you rock and I'm very thankful to have met you. You should know these day to day interactions and weekly beauty sessions led me to wipe the lens and refocus. Led me to a better understanding of why I do what I do. A clear example that I am not just a science teacher, I'm a happy face, a role model, a friend.
And you, you're going places.
When I first wrote this topic I had one specific person in mind. One person who I claim changed my first year of teaching. Upon thinking about it more, I began to realize the multitude of people that changed my first year. Students, co-workers, friends and family.
I'm beyond lucky to have the friends and family I have. This year of teaching would not be the same with out the immense support I have received from all of you. Instead, it would look a lot like a fish washed ashore flopping back and forth toward water. I'm thankful for all of you and all the students who made my first year, one worth celebrating.
This post is about the one girl (student) who changed my life as a teacher. This girl, we will call her Skit (a nickname she wanted to be called after a conversation we had together) was in two of my classes. Lucky for both of us our time wasn't compressed to the fast 47 min of science but instead about an hour and half plus any 2 minute passing periods she may have stopped in to say "hi". (Which made her perpetually late for almost all classes).
Skit is a person full of attitude, kindness, and humor wrapped in a raw type of self-assurance, especially for a seventh grader. I was struck by Skit about two weeks into the school year, never afraid to speak her mind to me or her peers. The only problem was, she didn't use that confident and unwavering voice in my science class.
Finally, one day I asked what she wanted to do when she grew up "Move to LA and be a cosmetologist". My response, as seen on my face and probably every interaction after, was one of awe and great determination to get her there. As we talked about the basic science principles behind cosmetology, it seemed to light a spark beneath her.
That light then grew into her receiving awards based off of her behaviors in science class. She could do my hair or nails every Friday as long as she received a certain amount of points on her weekly paper. Those Fridays were time for her and I to talk about our weeks, I would read my blog posts and she would do my hair. That then turned into her asking or more like telling me, to write a post about her. So this is for you Skit, I know it's not as soon as I promised but you rock and I'm very thankful to have met you. You should know these day to day interactions and weekly beauty sessions led me to wipe the lens and refocus. Led me to a better understanding of why I do what I do. A clear example that I am not just a science teacher, I'm a happy face, a role model, a friend.
And you, you're going places.