Bittersweet Endings

A sigh of relief....

Every school year starts and ends very differently. The only similarity is that I feel anxious and refreshed at the beginning and overwhelmed and exhausted at the end. And this past year was no exception.
I learned a lot about myself this year.
1) Teaching purely 7th grade- not my idea of fun (was it the age or the group, I'm not sure)
2) Patience is indeed a virtue
3) My heart truly lies in ESL

This year was tough, really tough. It was my first year to teach a non-ESL class, my first year to have only 7th grade classes, and my first year to have a true group of friends to stand by and get through the year with. Most of me couldn't wait to end this school year, but just like always, I didn't want to say goodbye to my 8th grade beginners. I only had 4 eighth graders this year in my classes, and they were such a joy. I grew closer to my beginners this year than ever before, and I didn't think that was possible. I felt like an overly proud parent on the last day of school when all their hard work culminated into a presentation of a book about their lives. It was amazing to see a group of kids who could not speak just nine months ago, and could not write a complete sentence, actually compose an entire autobiography!
Hard work pays off: Lesson 4. I learn that over and over and over, and no matter how many times I learn it, I often forget it.

Despite the difficulties of teaching my 7th grade reading class, and the disappointment I felt at the end when over half of them failed their TAKS test, the year ended on a bittersweet note. I had more kids come back and see me this year than ever before. In just the last three weeks, I got a visit from Mohammad and Josh, Felix, Michael and Kirbin, all of whom I saw grow tremendously in the two years I spent with them, and all whom were a part of my favorite year of teaching, 2008-09. I have to say that on top of many other joys of teaching, my most favorite is when they come back because it reminds me of why I do what I do. To share in the lives of kids is the most difficult yet rewarding task I've ever known, and I look forward to the relationships I get to build in however many years God has planned for me in this field.

I received a note from one of my ESL students the last week of school:
"OMG!!!! MRS. GONGORA...Thank you soooo much, Thanks to you I pass my TAKS test!!! Thanks for everything you teech me that really helped A LOT!!! :-) <333 ...Reading was my biggest concern....LOVE ALMA..."

That is why I teach ESL. I have consistently seen more desire and gratitute for learning and huge gains. I don't know what it is that makes them internally different, but they are.