End of the Year Parent Letter

Today a student left my room and moved to another school.  I will miss him and it has me reflecting…

I don’t remember learning to write my name or when the jumbled up words on a page turned into stories.  I’m not sure if I struggled in school and I don’t remember that much about it.   I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a teacher.  In fact, I know that I didn’t. 

I wish now that I could recall these memories of where my learning began but they just aren’t there.  What I do remember are the faces and voices of the teachers that made a difference.  I can hear my kindergarten teacher’s voice and see her smile.  I remember my first grade teacher and a field trip we went on to a swimming pool.  She played in the water with us.  I remember my third grade teacher used to give me Triscuits and let me read under her desk.

 

I have no doubt that the memories I do have from elementary school, combined through the years, make me the teacher I am today. 

It is because of this, I am always wondering what memories my students will take away from my classroom.  There is no doubt that academics are important but we all know there’s more to it than that.  I wonder if they will remember that I filled the room with 100 balloons for the 100^th day, that I let them throw water balloons at me or that I can’t carry a tune in a bucket but I sing anyway…

It is my hope, that one day they will look back on first grade and remember me.  They may not remember that I taught them to read (which is no small task) but it is my hope that they remember how I made them feel.  Maybe, one day they will stumble upon my end of the year letter to their parents and just for a minute, they will remember…

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