That’s a wrap! Thursday, May 27, 2021, was our last day at school. And what a year it was!! I have never seen anything like it in my nearly 25 years of teaching. After a weekend of veggin’ out and doing absolutely NOTHING, I try to reflect on the year that was and try to learn some things from it. I then take that knowledge and try to change or apply it to the new school year. Most teachers do this so they can better themselves as an educator. We are never OFF for the summer. We are always trying to make our classrooms better by taking classes, prepping for the next year, studying other teachers on Pinterest, or picking up things in the dollar section at Target. Teaching never ends once you close your door for the summer and walk away from the building.

There were a lot of adjustments to this school year. From starting the year during a pandemic to having to teach 1 eighth-grade science class, everyone in our school district had to bend in some form or another. Here are five things I took away from this school year.

Teachers Are Tough But Lovable

During our in-service at the beginning of the school year, I saw many scared and uncertain faces. Nevertheless, we were ready to take on the challenge to open school on schedule. We had many adjustments to make all for the sake of our students. My classroom, for example, was filled with PVC pipe and plastic barriers on my tables. Hardly the ideal situation. But, to keep my kiddos in school, I dealt with it to the best of my abilities.

Many of our teachers contracted the virus and quite a few students had family members who contracted COVID. We filled in where we could and we stayed in contact with our students who were at home. And by the end of November, we didn’t have any more cases in our school.

Our teachers did whatever it took to keep our schools open. Some had to sacrifice personal items in their classrooms to make room to space out their desks. Some volunteered their planning to cover another teacher who had to stay home due to COVID and we didn’t have enough substitute teachers. Even some teachers used their own hard-earned money to buy things for the classroom to protect themselves and their students. I am so lucky to be working with a fantastic group of colleagues.

Students Can Adjust

I was super impressed and proud of our students during this crazy school year. They handled mask-wearing as if they have worn them all their lives. We hardly ever had to remind them to wear masks. Yes, I still had some curious and maybe bored students who were breaking through my plastic barriers. On the flip side, I had many students who would report to me of any holes in the plastic or would help me tape them closed as best as we could.

Eighth-Grade Science Wasn’t Bad

I’m not going to lie, I was terrified at the prospect of teaching 8th-grade Science this past year. I had NO CLUE what I was going to do. The units within the Science curriculum were: Energy and Energy Transfer, Chemistry, Forces, Motions, & Fields, and Waves (which we never got to, unfortunately). Not too bad since I wouldn’t have to dissect any dead animal.

Luckily, I had a great group of students to work with and a Science teacher that was there for me whenever I needed anything. Most of them were right there with me, learning all about 8th-grade Science, and cheering me on when I didn’t know what I was doing. Was it perfect? Absolutely not! Did my students learn anything? Yes, they did. My students made me look good as a first-time 8th Science teacher. I am so proud of all they did during this crazy year.

Next school year, I will be doing it all over again and keep the same schedule. I hope that the second time around will go much more smoothly now that I know the content.

Discipline Gets More Difficult Every Year

As I had a wonderful Science class of students, some kiddos challenged me daily. Looking back on the year that was, I was in the middle of a metamorphosis of my students. You see, middle school is tough. You have some students that are still the little, innocent children who want to bring you treats and write notes and draw pictures for you.

Then you have the other students who are trying to find themselves. They look to social media to find the latest hairstyles, fashion, and filters for their selfies. One day they come in all goth and wearing all black, and the next day they come in with blue and pink hair asking you what you think.

Finally, there are the troublemakers, the repeat offenders. The ones who need direction because they didn’t get it at home. We had a large group of those in the same class this year. So many that you couldn’t split them up. This is a group of students who would pounce on an unsuspecting and “weak” student, bring them in as their “friend”, and then drop them like a hot rock all the while humiliating them in the process right in front of everyone. All I can say to this group…Karma is coming and she is not sweet and nice.

I had a couple of students who thought they were “too cool for school”. They liked to get a rise out of the adults in the room. They had a chip on their shoulder and were not afraid to tell you about it. I tried to have heart-to-heart conversations with them throughout the year but it fell on deaf ears. I tried communicating with parents through email and even they stopped replying. I couldn’t win. So I did the only thing left in my arsenal…I ignored them. I didn’t give them any attention in my classroom. If they wanted to play games on the computer instead of following along with the rest of the class, so be it. If they were talking on the side of the room, I ignored them. I talked a little louder to the ones who were paying attention to me in class. They are the ones making those choices, they need to suffer the consequences whether it is test scores, missing assignments, or whatever. I’m done fighting with students like that. All I can do is be the best role model for them because obviously, they aren’t getting that at home.

My prayer is that students like that finally see the light of what their actions are doing in their lives. Unfortunately, it needs to be a hard life lesson with difficult consequences for them to finally see it and realize what they have done.

Life Is Short

The month of May was a difficult one for me. In the span of about 2 weeks, a former teacher (the one I replaced as Computer teacher because she moved to Math) and our next-door neighbor died suddenly by accident.

My former colleague died from a bacterial infection and my neighbor from a motorcycle accident.

It really made me think about my own mortality. Each day is a gift. We are not guaranteed tomorrow no matter how much we plan. Life is short.

How are people going to remember you when your time has come? How many lives have you touched or pushed away along your journey? Are you going to be missed?

This is why I try to live my life in service to others. Whether it is my family, students, parents, teachers, or strangers on the street. I try to give a smile to everyone I meet and to not be judgmental because Lord knows I am not perfect either.

So this past school year was a lot of growing and sacrifice. I grew as a teacher able to handle some of the more difficult students with patience. I grew as a wife, mother, daughter, co-worker, and teacher. We had to sacrifice some comfort and aesthetics in my classroom for the safety of everyone in our building. I had to sacrifice having extra preps so I could help out the schedule and give to my students all that I know.

In August, we start again. May everyone who is in my presence feel better about themselves before they leave me.