My daughter started school last fall, and as an elementary teacher by trade, I was excited for her. I knew she'd make lots of friends and that the routine and schedule would be thrilling to her personality.
But I was worried about lots more than that.
I know the crazy things that happen, no matter how closely the teacher watches. I've seen how often children unintentionally, cruelly, hurt each others' feelings. I've seen get angry and make horrible threats and carry some of them out with whatever's handy, usually fists. I've seen teachers so overwhelmed that the kids go through the motions, learning a bit of everything but excelling at little. I've seen the kids who push so hard that the usually strong, confident kids fold from the pressure.
I didn't want that for my daughter.
We prayed and prayed for a teacher who would teach her well and lead the class diligently.
God definitely answered our prayer - positively.
Andi's teacher this year is great. She works one-on-one with students at their own instructional level when there isn't a group available on that level. She personalizes homework to make it the appropriate difficulty level. She works hard to keep the students on task and excited about their work. She stays on top of their behavior. Being very experienced and having taught several grade levels, she knows the skills necessary to progress well and breaks them down into manageable chunks.
Andi doesn't always love school. She misses her brother and the abundance of free time that she had before beginning school.
But she never minds going. She may dislike getting up early, but she's happy to head into school, surrounded by friends, ready to sit at attention by her teacher.
So, today I'm grateful for teachers who still want to teach. Who pay attention to the whole student and not just a bunch of numbers from a test. I'm grateful for teachers who take the time to know students and are willing to expend extra effort to give them the best learning experience possible. I'm grateful for teachers who take their sometimes-lemony situations and make them lemonade-y.
There were a few teachers who went that extra mile for me, and they changed my life. I'm happy to say that those types of teachers still exist.
Join us for GratiTuesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
*When my computer crashed a few months ago, I lost all my pics from the first day of school. So, here are our pretend 'school pictures.'
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