Alder - One Year In

This week I finished my first school year - as a teacher, not a mom - since 2009, and I still can't quite get over how happy I am to be back at work.  Last August, I took a ready-or-not leap into this job that was great on paper but much different in reality, and I'm really glad I did.  It has been so good for me, but also so good for our family.  My loving husband and kids adapted quickly to having Mom away from home and focused on things other than dinner, kids, and laundry.  I loved having a place that needed me, getting to meet new colleagues, rekindling years of unused teaching knowledge, and realizing how much had changed in the five years I'd been gone.  (Teachers text each other during class?!  Kids get to use iPads in the classroom?!  How did I teach before without Pinterest???)

Last day of school send off - bubbles, hugs, and a few tears

While our lives all got busier, for sure, I found out that we also had to be more efficient and focused - two things that ultimately make our lives better anyway.  One thing that surprised me the most was that I found that I was putting myself higher up on the list of priorities.  It may seem insignificant or selfish, but I now had an important reason - work - that couldn't just get put back to the bottom of the list.  Sam was very accommodating, just as I had been accommodating his work schedule for years.

But this post is more than just how my family adjusted to me working. Yesterday was the last day with students.  So many of them gave me cards and hugs, telling me how much they would miss me and even that they loved me - especially the knuckleheads whom I thought I never connected with.  And despite feeling like most of the year I was getting nowhere, yesterday I found myself overcome with emotion - literally pride and joy at the work I had been a part of and of this unique place I work at.

My school is in a district with very high poverty, high numbers of English language learners, and pretty dismal graduation rates.  My elementary school, in particular, is the poorest and most struggling in the district, which is saying a lot.  We aren't in inner-city Chicago or anything, but it's unlike any kind of poverty or challenging life circumstances I have seen in my teaching career to date.  The chaos and disorganization within the school, within the lives of these kids, and the day-to-day life of teaching in a school like mine is overwhelming, stressful, and bizarre at the same time.  I always said that life at Alder is never boring!  You just never know what you will find when you walk into work every morning.  Some days, you have lessons click with students gloriously as if by magic (because you really thought they'd bomb), and then days when a tidal wave of classroom chaos comes from no where and knocks you on your ass.  There are days when no sub shows up for a class you work with, or students so sleepy or emotional in class that you have to scratch your lesson and give the kids what they really need - compassion and attention. These are kids who make you work every second of the day.  They make you question your profession, your skills, your sanity, and your stamina.  They are so sweet and loving in spite of their circumstances.  It is not for the faint of heart, that is for sure.  It is so so humbling.  

Morgan helping me clean my room at the end of the year

In my little pocket of international East County, I taught students from 13 countries, from Rwanda to Ukraine to Tonga. It's also a slice of American culture with high poverty and lots of uncertainty. These kids are so resilient and so fragile.  I am humbled by all these students have taught me and overwhelmed by the circumstances in which they live their lives. My heart breaks for so many of them. Even though there were many stressful days where I doubted I was teaching them anything, yesterday I was reminded, hugged, and thanked for being a constant, positive adult in their lives. I'll be back for more next year to do better and learn more lessons alongside a very gritty, crazy group of teachers. ‪