I was on my own for supper tonight because Kathy was otherwise occupied with a most important obligation- taking two wonderful young ladies from Schulte Elementary School out for supper at Applebees. These two students were two of Kathy’s most valuable helpmates this past year, spending time in her room nearly every single day – both before and after school – doing things like setting up the chairs or taking them down, organizing CDs, etc. She had promised them a pizza party to show her gratitude, but then life got complicated at the end of the school year . . . and this ended up probably being even more fun and feeling even more like an extra special treat. (I crashed the party just long enough to snap a couple of pictures.)
Kathy told me that one of these young ladies is the youngest of four siblings – the oldest of which is now 22 years old – and all four of them (three sisters and one brother) over the years have been the same sort of special helpers for her. So that’s 14 years in which Kathy has enjoyed the help of these sweet kids, one after another – and as this youngest child graduates into middle school, so ends a very special era. This is the tough part about being a teacher – all of the goodbyes. (Although needless to say, there are a few kids where the goodbye doesn’t come fast enough – but that’s a topic for another day. It’s tough to let go of the wonderful kids- and these two young ladies are two of the nicest and sweetest of all.)
I know from experience that it can mean the world for a given kid to have a special place to be before or after school- and a place where they are valued and know that they are making a difference. And it’s really interesting and pretty neat that it is so often the music room / choir room in a school where a kid might find that special niche for themselves. And it isn’t limited to elementary school. Polly certainly has plenty of students for whom the choir room is sort of a home away from home. And at Carthage I certainly have had a few students over the years who seem to enjoy standing in my office doorway on a regular basis. And nothing makes me feel better. And it seems like one of those classic win-win’s in which you feel like you’re trying to make a given student feel welcome and special – – – when in fact they’re making YOU feel special just by wanting to have some extra time with you. (isn’t that the highest compliment we can pay someone? or the best gift we can give them?)
Anyway, no one is better than my wife at making these special students feel like a MILLION bucks . . . and you could just see it on the face of these two young ladies as they sat in their booth at Applebees, dinner guests of one of their favorite teachers in the whole world.
p.s.- I just came across a thank you card which one of these youngsters gave to Kathy – with a big note on the back of the envelop saying “Your my favorite teacher!” Even mis- spelled, those are words for which every teacher lives to hear.