Wow.

In my 9th grade class, just as I was about to let them go--after I got all teary in thanking them and saying goodbye--my "mean master teacher" (who had been in the room during the half-class where the kids filled out evaluations that I gave them of me) interjected and announced that she and the class had a present for me. They (I'm sure she) got me a journal--which is so nice since I bought them all journals at the beginning of the semester and always encourage them to write in journals--and they had each written a note to me in the journal thanking me for my hard work! Later on it occurred to me how much must have gone into that in terms of her being able to have them each sign the journal without me knowing anything about it. So sweet.

Then, the "mean master teacher" asked each student to share a thank you or compliment to me about the semester, and they all went in a circle and thanked and complimented me on the class. I hardly even remember what any of them said since I had so many emotions going on, but I do remember a few. One girl told me she really didn't like me in the beginning of the semester( I interjected by saying that I knew that! This was the class that started really badly, with this teacher observing me everyday and giving me a hard time), but eventually she really started to like me and this class a lot and that she learned a lot. Another student "complimented" me by saying that this was his only class that he didn't hate! Another really quiet student thanked me for always calling on different people and setting up the class in a circle and so everyone felt more comfortable participating, and he said that in made him much more comfortable and confident in participating and that he participated more in my class than he ever had before. Another student thanked me because he said he finally understood the idea of a thesis and how to write an essay. And the last one I remember was a student who thanked me for making them learn everyone's names. She said that she was really nervous in the beginning of the semester because she hardly knew anyone in the class, but that after I quizzed them on their names and had them work in groups a lot, she felt really comfortable in the class.

It was so touching.

I thanked this teacher and--tearing up again in doing so--told the class that she had been behind the scenes pulling all the strings throughout the semester.

The notes the kids wrote in this journal were so cute--especially congratulations on becoming a teacher and saying how they know I will become a good teacher (even though they just complimented me on being a good teacher).

Meanwhile, it was a good thing this wasn't a regular school day since we totally went over into the next class period, which made kids late, although most teachers didn't actually even take attendance today, so it wasn't a big deal.

In my 10th grade class, I gave each student an individualized note as well as a letter I wrote to the class, and I got a few more really sweet letters from them.

I also let them all know that I'm going to plan a picnic in the park next weekend that they're all invited to (as are you, dear reader), and I left a signup sheet for kids to give their emails if I don't already have them. (I have most of them.) Half a dozen of them signed up, which was nice, and I'm hoping to have a decent turnout and a nice day probably next Sunday.

What a special day.

Meanwhile, I came home and didn't feel like grading but didn't really know what to do with myself. I started to go to the park with my dog but it got cloudy and thought about going to yoga but eventually just took a nap, which was much needed after 3-1/2 hours of sleep last night.

I'm looking forward to reflecting more on this really amazing semester as my schedule opens up. I'm actually wondering what on earth I'm going to do with myself when that happens. Of course I have lots of fun ideas--plus plenty of things that I've neglected these past few months, plus trying to move and maybe make some big changes--but it's crazy to think about having zero school-related obligations....

Have more to say about other things in a bit....