Another school year comes to an end!
June 12, 2009THANK YOU FOR THE OUTSTANDING WORK YOU DO FOR MAINE STUDENTS AND THEIR ARTS EDUCATION!
Please take a minute and post a comment at the bottom of this page. Share what the highlight of your year has been….
I was an elementary art teacher for 30 years and loved my little kids, their laughter and high energy. This year, I transferred to teach at the middle school level. To my delight, teaching just gets better! My older students still laugh and their energy is high, but more moderate. I can actually use technology, literacy, and history integrated with art in a more meaningful way. I get to have a wonderful, large bright art room for the first time in my 30 years of teaching. The best part is I get to have the students everyday for 40 mins. (we are on tri semesters). Duty is always shared with the principals and the whole staff works together!!!! Lots of space to show off my student’s creativity! How novel!!!!
Thank you for your comment Frank! How I do miss middle school students, your comment reminds me of how much!
Oh yes. The end of the year. Time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t and to make promises for next year. Each year is filled with possibilities. I start each year curious as to what will get accomplished, who will rise to the challenges, how many “Ah Ha” moments will be enjoyed………. This time of year I look forward to closing shop, cleaning and organizing for the possibilities to enfold next year. I always try to focus on the positives – and try not to let the disappointments take over. At this moment I can positively say that it’s been a good year but I am positively looking forward to summer possibilities before facing next school year and it’s possibilities…… Cheers all. Kal
Ah … I finally feel that I “got good”. After five years, I am more confident and more innovative. I have implemented some VTS and created a wiki and blog….Overall many goals were achieved and many realized and I am thankful for that. I have the greatest job and I wouldn’t change it for the world! An as for middle schoolers…they are my smile!
OOOOOOOH! I got goosebumps reading your comment. Thanks Danielle!
What a strange mixture of emotions and focus at this time of year. Yes, there are finals and students finishing portfolios and trying to find storage for all the electronic \”stuff\” they have gathered on their computers, but there is great deal of looking forward to next year as well. \”Charlie, I\’ve got your class next year!\” is a comment I hear that in turn starts me thinking about next year and a new cycle of students. A senior lurking around the art wing yesterday two days after graduation wondering aloud to two of us art teachers if she is really ready for what comes next. She\’s ready, and we told her we knew she was and why. And then the alternative student who came in to school to use my art room to sew some clothing (she makes new out of old) and ending up with all three art teachers looking at her preliminary sketches and suggesting that she keep some of her products together with drawings to take with her for job interviews this summer. Her talents are employable in many ways.
So the end of the year really is just the beginning of the next, but I think for many arts teachers, it is a chance to breathe deeply for a few short weeks!
Ahhh….it is morning and I am a teacher, and this is the last day of school!!!
……..then I hit a deer
……..then I called neighbors to come get the
deer so we can eat it tomorrow night.
……..then the policeman had to leave (because the bugs were bad)
……..then I had to have my truck towed
……..then I split my pants when I looked under my truck
……..then I was glad today I wore underwear
……..then MaryKay was glad I wore underwear today as she gave me a ride in her car with the leather seats
…….then Sherri took me for a treat to help lift my spirits and…….got to see my pink underwear
…….then I had to say goodbye to the best art teaching colleague in the world!
…….I am blessed to be uninjured
blessed to know friends that can harvest a deer
blessed with friends that will drop everything to help
blessed to have colleagues offer their vehicles for the summer
(knowing where I am going!)
blessed to have worked with a colleague that will be dearly missed
blessed to be excited about “next year”
and blessed to have family and friends to listen and laugh with
yes, it was the last day of school.
I am the teacher, and yet, I am the one made wiser today.
I am blessed
What an end of the year you’ve had Suzanne, bittersweet. One that you won’t forget quickly. “I am the teacher, and yet, I am the one made wiser today.” Great quote and here is one to go along with it: “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is about.” Angela Schwindt