Teacher Appreciation Day: Have we told you lately that we love you?

My moment was when one of my students was soo mad at me he was going to kill me. BUT after he calmed down he came up to me and hugged me and said he was sorry and would never do that. I am a behavior disorder teacher. That was worth all my headaches that i have each day dealing with problem behaviors. This is my first year teaching and was wondering if it was all worth it. I know now it was!!!!!!

My inspirational moment is what made me want to be a teacher. When I was younger I had a hard time learning to read. In 3rd grade I still struggled with reading. My teacher. Mrs. A was wonderful she took extra time out of her day either before or after school to read with me and help me with comprehension. Because of her caring about me and know that I needed a little extra made me want to become a teacher.

I’m a huge supporter of Donor’s Choose. I have been blessed with having 3 projects funded. It’s amazing to see how excited my kids get when new materials come into the classroom. They can’t wait to read the books, play the games, or use the manipulatives. Whenever my students are excited and engaged like that – those are my inspirational moments!

My most inspiring moment was when one of my students was able to read an entire early reader book on his own… he looked up at me with complete surprise on his face and exclaimed “Teacher! I’m a reader!” it was everything I could do to keep from crying!

Mine would have to be when we had our teacher appreciation event this past week. Some of my students who I thought hated me said very wonderful things on the video that our administration made. The students also wrote some amazing letters about why I was their favorite teacher. It truly made my week!

Mine would have to be the day that one of my sixth graders (who could not read beyond a preprimer level) realized that he could take notes without words. It was definitely his break through to realizing just how intelligent he really was.

I teach because every day I have the privilege of coming to work and being energized and inspired by my creative, innovative, and expressive Art students. I am inspired and encouraged by the belief that my students will make this world a better place and that I can positively impact future generations to share my love and passion for the Arts!!!!

Very encouraging teaching moments – keep it up

It’s the little moments that sneak up and surprise you that remind you why you do what you do. I had an autistic student in my regular ed classroom, who had limited communication skills. He was very interested in what we were doing, but was content to watch and listen. During my formal evaluation half way through the year, he raised his hand for the first time ever, to go up to the board and presumably write the answer to a math problem. I had no idea how he would respond when I called his name, and wondered if this was a risk I wanted to take during my eval. I gave him his chance, and called on him to go to the board. He calmly walked to the front of the room, wrote the correct answer on the board and sat down. His first grade classmates were so astonished, they burst into spontaneous applause. I blinked away my tears at his first successful attempt to communicate with us, and went on to complete the lesson.

I had two African refugee students that at the beginning of the school year were scared and withdrawn. They rarely smiled and did not like to be touched. They became close friends and throughout the school year they both attended after school tutoring and small group instruction, both students were on grade level and were speaking English. They gave me a hug and a smile at the kindergarten graduation ceremony!

I’ll never forget my little buddy Chad from the Round Lake Area Park District in Round Lake, Illinois! It was my first teaching experience in a Kindergarten classroom. He and his family were incredibly loving and involved in his education! It was my personal goal to ensure his smile each day was genuine!
I’ve seen too many teachers get caught up in their “projects/responsibilities” that they fail to actually listen to a student’s story/comment. It breaks my heart when a teacher “listens” to a child without eye contact, without actually hearing the message that this little mind is trying to portray, and leaves the child with an insincere short response.
My little buddy came to class wearing a pair of new skechers that looked like Crocs. I noticed them right away and commented on how cool they looked! They were camouflage…which led the conversation in many directions…where he wears them, who else wears camouflage in his family and why….It really went on and on…
It ended with me looking at him saying, wow, those are so neat, if they had them in my size I would wear those!
He came back an hour after he had been picked up with mom and said, “Ms. Lauren, I got you a pair!”
I found out that a size 4 in kids shoes fit me! I still have and wear mine to this day!
I hope each teacher finds the time and heart to “really listen” to their students and know that they are ALWAYS listening to us!

As a teacher I have the privilege to many inspirational moments, I am very fortunate to have one of the most rewarding proffessions.