(Or taught, since technically I am now an alum). For more TFA info, click here.
Today was the last day of school. During our class party I needed to take a time out because my head was throbbing. The kids were doing one of three things: watching Jumanji on the carpet, eating pizza and doughnuts at their desks or wandering the classroom--which I never let them do, but figured it was the last day, so why not? I sat down in my teacher chair at my teacher desk and sort of rested my head in my hands, hoping this would somehow help to alleviate the migraine. Jose (yes, the one from the Planet Earth post) came over without my noticing and knelt down in front of my desk. "Mrs. Haslam?" he said quietly and privately. "Yes, Jose?" I answered. He went on: "Do you know that you're the best teacher I've ever had?" There was busyness all around us. He paused and then continued, "No one else has cared about me this much. You're the only one who's sent me home with books to read that are at my level. When I came to 4th grade I was reading at a 1st grade level, and now I'm reading at a 3rd grade level. That's why you're the best teacher I've ever had." I was so touched. We'd had many conversations at the beginning of the year about his low reading level and what it would take for him to improve, but him saying this really made me realize that he got it. He struggles with his self-confidence, and I finally saw this glimmer of hope that he now actually believes in himself. His words were not written on a note like all of the others I've received--you know the ones I've posted before that say "You're the best teacher ever! You rock!"--that the kids pretty much write to every teacher they've ever had. This was a little boy expressing his appreciation from the depths of his heart. He felt that I had done something for him. I hoped that he could see that it wasn't just me; it was him.
To say that my experience this past two years in Ravenswood has been challenging would be an understatement. But, in spite of it all, I have loved this time. It has been life changing. I will be forever in awe of these children, who despite difficult family situations, poverty and pretty much the worst possible things you can imagine, come to school every day, work their tails off and achieve amazing things.
