A Very Special Wedding

The wedding I attended on Saturday was for someone who is very dear to my heart.

I was Madeline's 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher and needless to say, when you spend three years with someone, they become almost like family.

Her sister, Meredith, was also in my class. A year younger that Madeline, she was with for me for 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade. (I taught the 2nd/3rd grade Gifted class for one year and then moved on to the 4th/5th Gifted class for the rest of my career.)

I've known these two ladies since they were 7 and 8 - lucky me!

Brooke, Madeline's best friend and matron of honor, was also in my class for three years. Needless to say, seeing these young women again was very special to me.

I sat down Sunday and went through old blog posts on Teachinmama, my original blog. Here are a few of my favorite photos with the girls.

Both girls were accomplished ballet dancers and I went to many of their performances.

A highlight of my Christmases for years was attending their annual performance of The Nutcracker Ballet and seeing their roles change as they grew more and more accomplished in their ballet training.

In 2011 I had both knees replaced, and they came to see me while I recovered at home. As a treat, they made ice cream for me from eggs that their ducks had laid. (If you are ever offered duck egg ice cream, say YES!! It is so rich and creamy!)

I retired in 2018, and with my principal's blessing (and to my surprise), years of former students descended on my classroom one afternoon in May and surprised me with a retirement party.

Madeline and Merry were right in the thick of things. What a lovely thing for all those former students to do for me and what a way to close out your career by celebrating with kids (many of whom were now adults) that you loved and still held close in your heart.

I didn't stay retired for more than a few months - due to illness, a teacher suddenly needed to retire during the school year. I was asked to finish the year as the class's teacher.

There was also a teacher's aide position for that class to be filled. Madeline was a studying Elementary Education at Purdue and I asked her to apply for the job if she was interested. She was, and was able to arrange her class schedule and take the aide position.

She did a wonderful job and it was really, really fun to have her as a colleague. (She is now in her fourth year of teaching 4th grade.)

Bumping into Brooke and Madeline at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon in 2021.

Congratulations, Madeline and Joe, and I hope you have many happy years together! And thank you for including me in your wedding day. 

Love always,

Mrs. I./Lynn

 

School's Out! (Again)

School's out, and I have made it through my five weeks as the teacher for the middle schoolers at the alternative school. There were lots of ups and downs, tears, and frustrations on my part, but we had some good moments, too. My goal was to get them back in school, and for ten kids, that is going to happen. 

I began with thirteen kiddos, expelled two due to gross violations of the rules for being in the program, and a third left of his own volition. Of the remaining ten kids, I have hopes for them to be successful next year, but it is up to them. 

One of the very best parts of coming out of retirement is that I had a former student of mine working alongside of me.

I was Madeline's teacher for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. She is now studying to be a teacher at Purdue University, and so when they told me I could have a classroom assistant, I invited her to apply for the job.  What a treat to work with her! And she is going to be an excellent teacher herself.

It was a proud teacher moment for me when Madeline taught the students origami - something that I introduced her to when she was in my classroom.

The students were absolutely riveted and for many of them, it was an opportunity to be successful at something in school.

Some even took the origami to different levels, experimenting with various sizes of paper as well as making other shapes besides the cranes that Madeline taught them.

The very last day of school was the roughest we'd had in the class for at least a week. The kids were DONE with school and their behavior reflected that. It was a constant juggle all day long, and my patience was stretched as thin as I think it has ever been stretched before. One student became so angry at me that I was actually afraid that he was going to hit me at one point as he raised his voice and yelled at me. (I called the principal for help at that point.)

 My desk and things, all packed up for the end of the school year.

As difficult as those five weeks were, I did come to love the students. There were moments when the tough outer exteriors dropped for a few moments and I could see them as simply kids. We even had some laughter - the morning class had a running joke about always being hungry (none of them ate breakfast and so would be hungry an hour into the school day.) It became a fun joke of them begging for food or threatening to use their phones to order something and have it delivered to school. One boy even googled, "What to do when your teacher is starving you" and showed it to me, and we laughed and laughed over that one. So some good moments, some glimmers of who they could be if they would take the chance being offered them and change their focus to better things.

I wrapped up the last day by packing and closing down the classroom after the students left. I am exhausted and drained, and my emotions are mixed. Did I really make any kind of difference in those kids' lives? There was some progress - ten students will be back in school this August, their language was much improved, and they ended the school year far more respectful than they were five weeks ago when I arrived. 

Tough as it was, I'm glad that I took the position. I hope that perhaps the kids saw a different side of life and know that I cared about them. My fingers are crossed that they will find better success next year than they did this one.

It's now up to them.

Things That Make Your Day

This came through my TSC email this morning from Madeline Roberts, a senior at Harrison. (She was at the dinner this past summer; see her picture here.)

Hi! I've been working on my college applications, and I was wondering if you would be willing to write me a letter of recommendation.  Please let me know so I can get that part of my application done.  Currently I am considering going in to elementary education... :)

Thanks!

Madeline

Absolutely, 100%, would I write this girl a letter of recommendation - for anything!! Even if it wasn't elementary education, too.

A "Hillbilly" of a Student

I got this email today from Madeline Roberts, one of my three-year students.  I have always loved Madeline's sense of humor and she is full on in this email for sure!

(When you read this here email, read with an' Ozark twang....)
  Heeeyy, you'll never guess what I've been up to.  So, I got cast in this play, called Beverly Hillbillies. Y'all should come, Matthew n' I be in it. I'm Cousin Pearl n' Mrs. Stokley-Symthe an' Matthew is gonna b' Mr. Turner n' Mr. Oglethorpe.
  Beverly Hillbillies is at Civic Theatre an' runs April 11-13. If yore goin't go you should buy tickets now cuz there sellin' em lickty split . :)

Matthew and I would shore appriciate it if you came!
Thanks,
Madeline Roberts

Gonna git myself on down and get me a ticket or two!

A Tweak from New York City

It's Fall Break and many families are traveling as a result. (Not me - I am home and relaxing!!)

Yesterday I got an email from the Roberts family whose two daughters were in my classroom when the Hershey GT class first opened and I was the 2/3 teacher. The girls were my students as 2nd and 3rd graders, and then were in my classroom as 4th and 5th graders. (Which means they are part of the group of kids who were in my classroom for three years - lucky me!)

As you might imagine, after three years together, they know you really well, and vice versa. So, I laughed out loud when I opened this picture that was attached to their email.

Meredith and Madeline Roberts

They're in New York City for Fall Break and holding orange and blue stuffed M&Ms while visiting the M&M store there! And wearing gold and black Purdue scarves at the same time.

It's always nice to hear from former students, but these two are pretty special, and I am glad they've remained in touched. Even if it is to tweak my love of the Illini.

Thoughtful Former Students

The R girls - some of my all time favorite students. Both were in the 2/3 my first year at Hershey, and both moved up to the 4/5. Lucky me - three years with these sisters.

(When I first met them, Merry, the 2nd grader announced, "I can be grumpy!" when I asked her to tell me about herself. "Oh, surely not!" I said, looking down at that sweet little face. I turned to look at her  older sister, Madeline, who had raised her eyebrows and was nodding sagely. "Oh, yes, she can!" she declared. But, in all our years together, I never, ever saw Merry grumpy.)

Merry sent me an email Thursday night. "Look around your door in the morning - elves came!" They sure had - those "elves" had decorated my classroom door! When? My guess was the previous evening during the Hershey Choir party. The girls' brother is still at Hershey and sings in the choir.

 Shades of many years ago when those girls helped our class make 1,000 paper cranes!

 Merry and Madeline made four out of gum wrappers. (So, the two of them and their parents all must've been chewing gum while their brother sang.)

 Two were on my Zeus welcome plaque. The larger crane says, "I miss you, Mrs. I. Love, Meredith."

Another two, also made out of the program from the evening were on my mailbox. "We flew high with Mrs. I...  Madeline" is written on the larger one.

Is it any wonder that I love these girls? Rather, these young women who are in 8th and 9th grade and yet still check in occasionally?