As we went through the last week of classes, I received lots of messages from students in all my classes. The little would run up to me when they saw me in the hall or in the school yard and give me hugs. The older students brought me cards and notes. Parents told me how much their children talked about my lessons at home and how the younger ones were sad that I wouldn’t be teaching them anymore (I will be at the same school, but only teaching 7 to 9 as we expand our middle school!.)
I got a card from a student who has never spoken to me (even in class!) to thank me for the fun activities I do and to tell me I am her favourite teacher. One from a parent who told me that I have awakened a curiosity and environmental stewardship in her son. And one from a student who told me that I helped her deal with her anxiety and made it a safe place for her to share her opinions, ideas and to voice her appreciation for « not treating her like a child .»
I took time with classes to have a « camp fire » where I played a YouTube video of a campfire with calming nature sounds. We took some time to reflect silently, then to share our favourite moment from their year. Those who wanted, shared a message for the rest of the students in the class. I was so happy to hear them talk about the projects and lessons we did, but even more so about the connections they made with others through gardening and group projects.
On our last day of classes, I ended up alone with the grade 7/8s for the last couple hour of school. There had been some difficult events in the past couple days, and I was left trying to manage lots of emotions from that group. At one point, when I could not stop crying, I excused myself to get my water bottle from my class next door. When I came back, students were sitting in a circle and told me to sit down so they could tell me all the things they liked about this year with me. As if I wasn’t crying enough already.
I had a great year of teaching. I had so much fun with our projects and our discussions. But it was absolutely heart warming to hear these students talk about how much the little things that I thought often went unnoticed or that I do without realizing has such an impact on them .
And then, despite this being such a fantastic year, I proceeded to cry almost the entire day. And then spent 4 days recovering, sleeping, watching Netflix and just relaxing. I was so mentally exhausted. I have never been so drained at the end of a school year, even after the worse years. I really have no idea how to process this all. Two weeks later, I still have days of extreme tiredness.
Next year, I will be working 3.5 days at the school and continuing with some consultant contracts. This summer, I am trying to take a real break and to put all school stuff aside until September. I am going to be heading away on a trip, spending time with my family, and will return to Squamish at the end of August. Until then, I am going to step away from Twitter and my website to fully recover and return to school ready for another year.
See you in September! xx Carrie
Learn. Reflect. Blog.
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