Feeling sappy.

My 4th hour class was wonderful this year. I really looked forward to seeing them every day. Well, we had our last day together on Thursday when they took their final exam. They took a class picture we had taken together where we were all wearing our class tshirts and framed and matted it and wrote me wonderful notes around the outside of the picture. They presented this to me that last day and told me that I had to hang it up in my classroom in a very important spot. These are the things that make teachers want to do their jobs for such little pay. That one framed picture made my whole week and I'll be happy every time I look at it. Then, the next day, a girl told me she made cookies for me and she did indeed! Huge chocolate chip cookies that were amazing!!! There was a card attached and it was probably the sweetest thing a student could say to me: she had had so much fun in my class but felt that she had learned more from me than she had in any other Spanish class. She loved my teaching style because it was so laid back and she didn't felt like I just wanted them to memorize random vocabulary and stuff for tests, but I was excited about the language and wanted them to relax and enjoy the language too. Wow. In my whole life of teaching that is really what I want- the kids to really love the language and culture the way I do and to just try it and enjoy. I don't expect them to become fluent at all. Some may, most won't. I just want them to know that the Spanish language and the cultures that fall under the language are so much fun and that even if they don't sound perfect when they speak, it's OK- just have a good time trying. Life is all about the experiences that we have and I want my students to have a positive one when they're with me. I'm sad to see these kids leave this year. My first try at teaching the third level at EHS has been a great one.