Thankful students

It’s so easy to get bogged down with grading and challenging students throughout the school year, but this is the time of year we can step back and look at the forest instead of the trees — or is it look at the trees instead of the forest in this metaphor?

Thank you card

This is the time of year we receive thank you notes from students — those who do not surprise us with notes because they have shown appreciation all year long, and those who do surprise us because teenagers do not always show on the outside what they feel on the inside!

Another reminder is our senior assembly which we started doing because graduation takes place during the school day most years and not all teachers and students are able to attend.   It’s a wonderful time of hearing about the wide-array of accomplishments of individuals and groups.   I am in awe of the young people who sometimes frustrate me so much in the classroom, but who are so very talented!

Then today the school blog included a picture of one of my students playing a violin he had printed on the 3-D printer in his CAD class.   I remember when he showed me his first 3-D printed project and never dreamed he would graduate to printing violins in less than a year!

So…. my students say thank you and this time of year makes me stop and say thank you to all the people and events that led me down the twisty-turning path I took to becoming a teacher.   It really is a rewarding profession once you step back and look at the forest, or the trees, or whatever it is you need to focus on to see the beauty in the moment!