I've been in education a long time...since 1980. If you count up the years, you will realize that I have many years "under by belt." I enjoy coming to work everyday. Being with 8, 9, 10, and 11 year olds keeps me young at heart. I'm in the middle of my quest to get to know students' names and something about each. I've eaten lunch with 15 groups of students (That's 90 students). I look forward to my "lunch dates" because I can talk silly with the students, finding out things about each of them. We play a game together - in which I usually lose - so students know there's a softer side to me. I want students to know me as one who cares for them and has high expectations. I've got a few more "lunch dates" ahead of me that I'm looking forward to.
I think about what I do and I'm so blessed to be where I'm at. First, I'm blessed to be an educator. As a teacher I formed many close relationships with colleagues and students. I've had the opportunity to positively influence many in their lives. Also, I'm blessed to be here in Lorena. I enjoy seeing students who really want to learn every day. It's also fun to see those whom I have had in past years doing well in the middle and high schools. Once in a while I hear from an ex-student and am pleased by what they are doing in their lives. I will be reflecting on some of my success stories in the next few blogs. My first is Mary:
MARY: Mary was a girl I had in class when I was teaching 4th grade. She lived in a poor neighborhood with many family members living in her house. She came to school with an "attitude." Much of her attitude focused on her not caring about her school work. She didn't try at her assignments, she acted like she wasn't interested in my lessons, and she had no goals to improve. She was determined to "skate by." I challenged each of my students in a different way. With Mary, my goal was to get her to WANT to succeed. I would go above and beyond to make her laugh, to pay attention to her, and to brag about her progress that I saw. It took a long time for my to "break through" with her. It was in February of that year. We had taken a lengthy test, preparing for the TAAS test. Like any standardized test, it took a lot of effort. When I graded her test, she got a passing grade. The next day I went up to her and looked her in her eyes and said, "Now I got you!!" She smiled as I told her results. Her "won't" turned in to a "will" and she made more progress after that. After about five years after I started here at Lorena ISD I heard from her in an email. She told me how much she appreciated me and that she was doing well in high school. That was the last I heard from her, but I was so encouraged about her progress and it made me feel so good that I made a difference in her life.
