Presentations and Politics

This morning marked my last official duty as Lacrosse coach. We had our end-of-the-season banquet, and it was wonderful. I had to get up in front of about 100 people to hand out awards and talk about each individual player. Of course, they had me go first, so I was shaking like a leaf. I was sooo nervous for some reason, but it went well. I even cracked a joke or two and had the entire place laughing.

I did my thing, handed out awards, spoke kindly about each player, and then I was able to sit back and relax while everyone else did their thing. I even got a $50 GC to four different restaurants, so that was nice of them.

At the end, one of the parents came up to me to thank me for my hard work. She's a parent of one of my students, so I had actually met her at parent-teacher conferences. Anyway, she says, "I probably know more about you than any parent should know about their child's teacher, but Kenzie talks about you all the time. She adores you and she always came home from school with a funny story about English class. She just raved and raved about you all the time." I blushed and said THANKS, a little nervous about Kenzie had said about me (by mistake, I've actually said a few not-so-politically correct things).

The mom continued to say that Kenzie came home one day to inform her parents about the different between a first year teacher and a tenured teacher. Kenzie had an entire presentation prepared for her parents about why first year teachers are so much better than someone who has taught for years and years.

Before I continue, I must mention that Kenzie was in my only 10th grade class last semester, so I had a lot of fun with that class. I adore my 10th graders. They are so much more personable, they are able to carry a conversation, and they are just so much more grown up than the freshmen. This class that Kenzie was in was my all time favorite class, and we became really good friends. I shared a lot with them, including my position as a first year teacher and how it was probable that I wasn't coming back next year due to numbers.

So Kenzie presented her case to her parents regarding why I should be hired again next year. Obviously, Kenzie's presentation to her parents means nothing in the world of numbers, budgets, and politics, but it was nice to hear from a parent how much a student appreciated me. The mom hugged me and said, "I know you meant a lot to Kenzie, and for that, I thank you. I hope you're able to continue teaching at Chatfield." With tears in my eyes, I told her that I probably won't be coming back to Chatfield due to numbers. Kenzie's eyes filled up with tears as she heard me say these words, and her mom hugged me once more. She said, "Even if you're not able to come back, please know that Kenzie loved you and you made a real impact on her life. Don't give up teaching. You're doing a great job."

Thanks for the kind words. It means a lot, and it makes me sad to think of not coming back to Chatfield.