Kristin Ackerman
March 25, 2011
I once heard it said that beginnings are scary and endings are sad, but it's the middle that counts. As I am moving towards the end of the school year I am reminded of how true that saying is for me as a teacher. Every fall I anxiously await my class list hoping that I will have a good group of kids and am little nervous about my ability to help them grow. The first day of school always feels nerve wracking as we play this game of sizing each other up.
The end of the year feels bittersweet. I cherish my summers but it feels strange to walk away from the kids and families I have spent the year with. As a class we have laughed, worked hard, and even cried together. So, sending them off to the next teacher just feels as if I am walking away from family.
It is in these melancholy moments that I choose to remember that it is the middle that counts. The rainy Monday mornings that we worked hard to try out new reading skills, the sunny afternoons on the playground, the busy buzz of math, and sitting at the lunch table learning about all of the third grade gossip. We spend hundreds of days plugging along pushing our kids to grow academically and socially and those countless hours should not be forgotten. I don't remember where I heard the saying but at this time of year I am grateful for the saying that reminds me that my work right now the middle is what counts.