Well, okay, somewhere, and I know where, more than a few days went by! This, however, is what my life usually looks like! What did I do in that time that claimed my time? Let’s see: taught classes, supervised student teachers, spent the day in NYC getting there via a bus trip that the Art Department sponsors each semester, spent a day at my first all day line-dancing workshops, and the usual bout of laundry, dishes and all of that!
One thing it did include was a wonderful dinner out with ten of my previous student teachers. They had hoped to surprise me, I guess, but realized how hard that really is to pull off, so invited me to a local pub for dinner. It was more than lovely. They shared with me, and each other, how their lives were going, what they were doing in the field, and more. One is at a four year college, a couple are employed but not with young children, the rest are working in various ways with young children, and a couple are finishing up their two year degree and graduating this semester.
There were many sweet moments, including a gift of two books and the request to read them aloud! And, when they were sharing their favorite stories, I really appreciated that it was very meaningful things to me: that I sat on the floor and modeled how to work with children, that I individualized their work as much as possible, that I understood their life challenges, and taught them to communicate. Wow! I was really moved.
I really was validated for my hard work by their words. Thank you for allowing me to be your teacher. What you don’t know if how much you taught me in return.