Lucky Me

June 10, 2011

I am so lucky to get to be a teacher? With so many current problems weighing on the teaching profession, some may find it hard to understand why we stick with it. Yes, there are times when it's hard to keep your chin up, but not today. On this particular day, one student wrote one sentence that will forever remind me of the opportunity we have to touch lives.

During the last week of school I give students a memory book to complete. The task is to draw a picture of themselves, their friends and me, the teacher. In addition, the children are to write about 1. My favorite part of Kindergarten is...2. The most important thing I have learned is...

As soon as the students get busy drawing and writing in their memory books, I begin to slug through the end of year list of teacher must do's. You know what I'm talking about...stack and/or find all the teacher guides for inventory, alphabetize the lunch cards, record reading levels on five different forms. This list, which is affectionately called the "Passport to Paradise," seems endless.

As the children begin to finish their books, I'm still drowning in tasks. I encourage students to find a partner to share with so I can continue to work and check items off my list. I know, I know, not my best teacher moment.

Then I began to overhear the students reading to each other.

"My favorite part of Kindergarten is Daily 5." That makes me smile.

"The most important thing I learned is writing." Yippee!

"The most important thing I learned is reading makes you smarter." Wow".

"The most important thing I learned is take care of the world."

Whoa! The passport can wait; I've got to look at these memory books.

What I saw is that many of the important lessons the students wrote about came from the books we've read! For months we've been talking about author's purpose...why did the author write the book and what does he or she want us to remember. The children have been making deep connections such as, "Never give up. Be a good friend. Tell the truth" and more. Now some of these connections are making their way into the students' memory books.

One of my sweet Tier 2 friends brings me his book. I can guess what his favorite part of school is...riding the school bus. I know this because that's all he writes about, every day. But today something is different...he wrote that his favorite part of school is books. Wow, that's a surprise. Then I turned the page to see what he wrote for the most important thing he has learned. At first I thought it was just a string of random letters. Yet as he began to read, the words unfolded right before my eyes.

"If you try to do something you can do it." I was speechless, sucking in air. All I could do was hug him tightly and try to keep from sobbing out loud. Then I told him this was the best thing he has even written.

I've been reflecting on this marvel ever since. This dear boy struggles with practically everything we do. In fact, he did not meet grade level exit criteria for the year. But even though independent reading is hard for him, isn't it amazing that he says books are his favorite part of Kindergarten? While he may not be able to decode words quickly and easily, he does enjoy our read alouds. He is thinking and participating in our book discussions. Clearly a book or two we've read has given him the armor he needs to keep going, keep working, keep trying. This precious boy is discovering that the written word has power to help you learn about yourself and the world around you.

Someday when the mechanics of reading catch up with the meaning he derives from books, he will become a complete reader. My hope for him, as for all my students, is that he will be a voracious reader for a lifetime.

It's a good day. I am so blessed to get to be a teacher! Now back to that passport...