I am a teacher and there is nothing else that I would choose to do that would make me any richer or happier. Today's blog post is actually for my students as I write a letter of introduction and tell them a little bit about me. The plan is to use this blog for teaching purposes several times throughout the coming months. I want them to see that becoming a good writer is essential, attainable, and most of all it is fun.
Have a good day dear family and friends out there. From here on the plains of Texas, I am surely thinking of y'all. (By the way, I have actually caught myself talking like that from time to time. Who would have ever thought? Certainly not me!)
~in a letter to the children~
Dear children,
Good morning dear ones and welcome to our classroom! I have waited for this day all summer long and I am so thankful that the first day has finally arrived. If you feel like I do then you have butterflies in your belly about now. If that's the case, then that's ok. Chances are that you are in good company. Please don't worry about anything that lies ahead. I'm positive that this will be our best year ever. Just you wait and see!
I have been a teacher for a long, long time. In fact, it's been 38 years of a long time. I never dreamt that I would be a teacher for nearly 4 decades. I used to think that 20 years was forever. Now I'm nearly ready to double that number and I am happy that of all places on this planet that we all share, that I am here with you for the next 9 months.
You know, I didn't start out as a grownup. Once I was a fourth grader as well as a fifth grader. Hey, I've even been a sixth grader too. Although so many years have passed, just right at 48 in all now, I still remember what it was like. When I walked into the classroom on that first day of the 4th grade, I had just gotten over having the measles for nearly all summer long. Six weeks of my summer vacation were spent inside of a darkened bedroom feeling miserable with red spots all over me and a fever high enough to make me miserable. It was in fourth grade that I learned how fun spelling was and before the end of the year was done, I had made it to the league spelling bee and gotten a blue ribbon. I remember being sad a lot of the time in 5th grade as I found myself worrying about my older brother who had been sent overseas to fight a war in a place called Vietnam. Sometimes it was hard for me to concentrate on my work. It seemed like my mind wandered a lot as I tried to imagine where my brother was that day and what he was doing. Mostly I wondered if he was safe and if I would ever see him again. Thankfully I did. 6th grade was a tough year for me. I had to work harder to get good grades and even when I did work harder it didn't always turn out like I hoped for it to. I struggled with math and science and could never understand how it was so easy for some of my friends and so hard for me. I made it though.
I survived.
I thrived.
And so what lies ahead for us in the next 9 months of school? My job this year is to teach you what you need to know about English, spelling, and writing. It is my responsibility to help you be prepared for all of the testing that awaits us as the year progresses. To be able to communicate in a manner that you can be well understood is essential to success in this life of ours. Yet even in all of this, there are other things that I wish for you to learn as well.
I want you to learn how important it is to become a good citizen, to be honest and true, to show kindness to one another, to help your neighbor or even a stranger, and to look for the good in everything that happens to you. My favorite lessons of all to teach are those that are found in "the book of life". If you aren't sure what that means just hang on. Chances are very good that there will be several taught in the first weeks of school.
The days and weeks that we have ahead of us will more than likely pass all too quickly. 170+ days may seem like a long time this morning on the first day of school but in reality it will be quite the opposite. In that proverbial "blink of an eye" it will all be over. Seriously. I'm not kidding. It will be done.
You are part of a classroom community now in this room. I need you to all stick together with one another and to help each other along the way. We cannot leave anyone behind. We are all going to cross the finish line on that last day of school in May together. That includes me as well as all of you. Sometimes school is not easy and we may get discouraged and want to give up. I am telling you this for sure. Don't get too discouraged and certainly never give up.
Your whole life lies ahead of you this day. Make every day that follows this one count for good things dear children. I already love you more than you can even imagine and by the way, here's my first bit of advice for you and that counsel would be this.
If you ever have a teacher who says that they don't love you, here's what you do. Find another teacher.
Welcome to this community. We were meant to be together, you and I. I came over 800 miles to get here, from over the great Continental Divide. I never even knew that you were here until one day I found you along the way. We were meant to be together, you and I.
Life is good young ones. Please don't ever forget that.
Love,
Mrs. Renfro
No comments:
Post a Comment