What I miss . . . and don't miss

"Friends, I will remember you,

think of you, pray for you,

and when another day is through,

I'll still be friends with you."

". . . and the old giant hollered back,

'If you hit me one more time

I'll come back there and

smack the fire out-a you!"

The first week of school really breezed by. I could really blog for a long time about what it was like not to be an active part of it, but I think I'll limit myself to 5 things I missed and 5 things I didn't miss. Here goes:



I MISSED

1. Reading the first Jack Tale, "Jack in the Giants' Newground."


2. Playing "Poison River", where the children have to leap across an increasingly wider, more treacherous river, threatened by imaginary piranha, alligators, anacondas, and so forth.


3. The first singalong, and teaching a new bunch of children "The Cat Came Back."


4. Sharing before and after school with my colleagues. Those sharing times were far too limited by the nature of our job, but they were moments of empathy, support, and encouragement.


5. The opportunity to ignite a love of learning and nurture a sense of purpose in a new group of children. As Dr. Purser aptly noted in some beginning-of-the-year remarks, teaching is one of the few professions that gets to start fresh each year. That's why I still loved teaching even when I chose to retire. In fact, the last year was one of the best!

I DON'T MISS

1. Giving End-of-Grade Pretests to 3rd graders the first week of school.


2. Having to sign up for committees that I knew were going to take me away from where my heart was.


3. Having to implement practices or procedures I was philosophically against.


4. Being taken out of my classroom for county inservice or group scoring sessions.


5. Being deluged by e-mails from the county office that generally had little relevance to my mission, and often required a detailed, well-thought-out response, survey, or evaluation (there went my planning time again).

Many folks have asked me this week if I miss the children. YES! However, the children I miss are the ones I know. That's 45 4th and 5th graders that I was privileged to teach, PLUS Jessie! Not knowing who would have been in my class this year meant that I didn't have to break a bond. Because once I have a student for one day, the bond solidifies quickly and parting is painful. But very soon I will be back on campus, at least from time to time, doing the things I loved best. But not for a paycheck. More later. HAPPY LABOR DAY!