End of a Chapter...

Seven years of my teaching career have been spent at Winnetonka High School. The North Kansas City School District has been incredibly good to me over the years and I am far more emotional than I ever imagined I would be ending a chapter in my life only to begin another. I prefer to view it as a pause...hoping that one day I will return to the real brick & mortar classroom. At least that is what I'm telling my heart to ease the sting I feel at the moment. I have no doubt that my decision to teach for the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program is a good decision for my family at this juncture in life, but there is no doubt I am overwhelmingly saddened.

There is nothing like the end of the school year to affirm my decision to go in to education...this time it's different as I know many of these student I will never have the opportunity to see again. I'm use to having four solid years with many of them and often have the fortune to teach them during both their freshman and junior years. Yes, I will miss my colleagues, the administration, the staff...but more than that, I will miss the one-on-one contact with these students..the forging of relationships, the connectedness I feel with these kids. The far reaching impact is sometimes felt immediately when students feel comfortable enough to come to you outside of academics to work through other problems because there is a level of trust. Sometimes it comes at the end of the year in the form of hugs, tears and cards. Sometimes it comes from parents who later tell you how much you meant to their child, and sometimes years later when you see former students out in the real world. Many say teaching is a thankless job. That's not why many educators pick this field. It may be thankless, but it is the most rewarding career imaginable.

Okay...I have to finish packing my room and dry my eyes...

Flowers from the Social Studies Department...too sweet.