These pandemic years are rough on educators. Some days they want to quit, overwhelmed with exhaustion, grief, stress and controversy. Other days, though, from out of nowhere comes one of those moments: a slice of pure joy that keeps them going.
Teachers and principals from around the country shared those moments with 澳门跑狗论坛. Tender, funny, and poignant, none of them negate the systemic issues that need fixing, like the low pay and unrealistic expectations they endure. But they provide critical sustenance and inspiration when they鈥檙e so badly needed. Here are their stories, edited for length and clarity.
鈥楽o much good in what we do鈥�
I was in a difficult situation with a disciplinary decision. I had parents in my office, and they weren鈥檛 happy with the decision I was considering for their student. I鈥檇 walked out in the hallway, and I was pondering my options, and I felt overwhelmed, like someone was going to be unhappy no matter what I did.
Just then I got a message from the master sergeant for our Air Force Junior ROTC program. The kids were celebrating because they鈥檇 taken first place at two drill meets, and they wanted me to join them. I get there, and the kids are all smiles, and they say, 鈥楬ey, Mr. Reyes, would you take a picture with us? Pleeeeze?鈥�
And in those moments I realize that there is so much good in what we do as leaders, that our experiences with them are making a positive impact. I get injected with confidence that we鈥檙e moving in the right direction. When I get an opportunity like that, to get out and smell the roses, it makes the harder stuff seem not as bad.
鈥�Fernando Reyes, principal, Harlingen High School South, Harlingen, Texas
鈥楾hey all just start singing along鈥�
I have a Google form that students can put song suggestions in. I review them every weekend and make a play list, and we listen during independent work time. When kids hear their song, they get so excited. Or when a really good song comes on, they all just start singing along.
In one of my classes, they harmonize. Like last week, a song by Ella Mai, 鈥淏oo鈥檇 Up,鈥� came on, and they started singing different parts in harmony. They didn鈥檛 even know they were doing it, really; they鈥檙e just singing along.
By the time the playlist is on, we鈥檙e like 45 minutes into a 75-minute class, and we鈥檝e been working hard, and when they start singing, it reminds me of what connects us. There鈥檚 a childlike happiness I feel. It doesn鈥檛 matter that some of them don鈥檛 get along, or some are having a bad day. In that moment, we鈥檙e understanding that song, and we鈥檙e all bonded.
鈥�Theresa Bruce, 8th grade social studies, KIPP Harmony Academy, Baltimore
鈥業鈥檓 holding in my hands this evidence of the circle of life鈥�
When I was hired here, I replaced the woman who鈥檇 been my high school teacher, Kay Henderson. I went to work in her old classroom. She left all of her teaching materials, decorations, everything. One of the things she left was the copy of The Catcher in the Rye that she used to teach from.
It has all of her old notes in red, and her yellow highlights, and notes I added to it a few years ago. She made such a difference for me as a student, and she was a mentor for me in my first few years as a teacher, and I have this little piece of her to carry on. And this year, first semester, I had my own student teacher, and she was a former student of mine.
So I鈥檓 holding in my hands this evidence of the circle of life in education. It reminds me that we mentor students all the time, and we also have the potential to mentor future teachers.
鈥揌aley Lancaster, English/language arts, Lincoln High School, Vincennes, Ind.
鈥楢n hour of pure joy鈥�
We do 鈥減ositive office referrals鈥� for kids, where every staffer gets to choose two children each week to come to the office to be celebrated. They have these little yellow slips of paper, and they check off behaviors like empathy, problem-solving, or being respectful or kind.
They come to the office on Friday afternoons, and we make a huge deal out of it. The whole staff, the parent volunteers, we just oooh and aaah over them. It鈥檚 an hour of pure joy. For me to see them in that elated state fills my bucket.
鈥�Amy Gonzales, principal, Nan Clayton Elementary School, Austin, Texas
鈥楢 place of peace and magic鈥�
I do these building walks in the early mornings. No one鈥檚 there yet. It鈥檚 my time to center, to pray, to think about the humans that will go back and forth in these halls all day long. I started taking pictures of teachers鈥� classrooms when they鈥檙e quiet and texting them to them, in the wee hours, before school. It鈥檚 an idea I got from a mentor, Dr. Steve Matthews, the superintendent of Novi schools.
I thought maybe I could connect teachers to that sense of peace, saying, I know this place seems so hectic during the day, but look at your classroom: It鈥檚 a place of peace and magic. To just reach out with a simple text and let people know, 鈥淚 see you. I see your space, and this is what we do.鈥� Sometimes I take pictures of the playground, or the sunset when I鈥檓 leaving the building, or the clouds around the flagpole when it鈥檚 at half-mast. These images can help us stop and be in the moment in our lives, with our school community.
What I鈥檓 learning, my approach, is to find joy in the natural part of this work. Testing, academic gains, that鈥檚 what I call the technical part of the work. But where we are right now, when the lightbulbs go on, why you walked into the classroom to do this job, that鈥檚 the natural part. It鈥檚 who your soul is as an educator.
鈥�Walt Sutterlin, principal, Washington Woods Middle School, Holt, Mich.
鈥楾hank you for being my student鈥�
I鈥檝e started ending my classes by saying, 鈥淭hank you for being my student.鈥� It goes back to fall 2020 when we were virtual. I had to have everyone muted, and I didn鈥檛 realize how isolating and weird it would be. I was speaking into a void and it felt really lonely.
But at the end of the day, as I let students go, they started unmuting and saying, 鈥淭hank you, Miss Roberts.鈥� It was like this cascade, and I nearly started crying. I thought, what can I do to carry this on in my classes now that we鈥檙e in person? Now I end my classes that way, and hardly a kid leaves without saying it back. Sometimes they even beat me to it.
This is my 34th year teaching, and this thank-you piece has changed me. I鈥檓 more conscious of the fact that we鈥檙e a team, we鈥檙e in this together, that I need to hear their voices. I started saying it to colleagues, too: Thank you for being my colleague. It鈥檚 super cheesy, but I鈥檓 nothing if not cheesy. I don鈥檛 want to play it cool. I want to be my authentic self. And if you make fun of me for showing too much grace, vulnerability and love, I鈥檓 OK with that.
There are substantial problems in the world of education that aren鈥檛 going away. But if we don鈥檛 find some joy in those little moments, I don鈥檛 know how any of us keep going.
鈥�Laurie Roberts, English/language arts, Timberline High School, Boise, Idaho
鈥楾hey inspire me鈥�
I鈥檓 the adviser for our Gender and Sexuality Alliance. They inspire me. I鈥檝e been on the edge of tears multiple times this year. We went to the state capitol last week to advocate for and against proposed legislation. [One of the bills requires people to use restrooms that correspond to the gender assigned to them at birth.] One of the students, who is trans, spoke with the sponsor of the bill [Republican Jake Merrick].
She requested that he be pulled off the Senate floor so she could talk to him. And he did, he came and spoke with her. He had to go back in several times to vote on legislation, but each time, he came back out and reengaged in conversation with the student. They disagreed, but he was polite and honest. It was a rare moment to see an ideological divide with both people reaching across the divide. The courage of that student! And the transparency of that senator! It was very rewarding.
There鈥檚 COVID, and so many forces against public education, and all of this weighs on me. It鈥檚 hard not to get swept up, and think, what else could I be doing? How many dozens of other jobs are easier than this one? But these moments provide balance. They tell me I鈥檓 in the right place.
鈥�Aaron Baker, government and international studies, Putnam City North High School, Oklahoma City
鈥楾his is why I picked this profession鈥�
A student in my class has autism. She really struggles finding friends, or a partner in class activities. I work with her on those things, and I see she鈥檚 getting better.
A few weeks ago, the students were working with partners to summarize text. Her row went first to pick partners, and she wandered around, not quite sure, and everyone grouped up. She looked at me like, how do I handle this? And I said, it鈥檚 OK, go find a group, and ask if you can work with them.
She walked over to a group, and asked, and waited, and she got kind of anxious, flopping her hands around. But they were like, 鈥淵eah! Sure, come work with us!鈥� It brought a smile to my face, and I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in her. It reminds you that it鈥檚 OK to be brave and go into difficult situations. I鈥檓 proud of the kids who said she could join them, too.
People can get a little stuck in the negativity and forget about those little moments of joy. It doesn鈥檛 negate all the difficult things, like low pay, and working conditions. But seeing the amount of growth my students are making, not just academically, but emotionally, reminds me that this is why I picked this profession.
鈥�Brianne McGee, 2nd grade, Arbor View Elementary, Elkhorn, Neb.
鈥業t鈥檚 really nice when someone notices鈥�
I got an email last Friday from the parent of a student. He said, my son has raved about you since day one. He loves your teaching style, and he told us that you realized the kids weren鈥檛 getting something, and you modified the way you taught to help them understand. He said he was grateful.
In Algebra 2, we鈥檇 been working on quadratic equations, and the kids were just not getting it. They鈥檙e juniors, and I鈥檇 been relying on them to develop their own system of taking notes. But they weren鈥檛 doing it. They weren鈥檛 retaining anything. So I created a system for them, and changed how I鈥檓 giving assignments and how we鈥檙e doing quizzes. I鈥檓 focusing more on, you need to show me how you did this problem, before we move on.
This one parent, I know him, and he and I are not on the same side of a lot of issues. We鈥檙e very different. So that email meant a lot coming from him. As teachers, we try to do what鈥檚 best practice, but it鈥檚 nice when someone notices.
鈥揈lissa Messinger, math and science, Red Land High School, Lewisberry, Pa.
鈥業鈥檓 hopeful about the future because I teach鈥�
After all that virtual learning, it鈥檚 so fulfilling, so good for the soul, to see that these kids are still willing to push themselves, have difficult conversations. Last semester, we read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. We had a discussion [about themes in the novel], and one of them was whether we owe our parents a debt of gratitude.
One kid was adamant, yes, my parents have done so much for me, we owe them that respect. And another, she鈥檚 gone through the foster system, she had a very different perspective. She challenged my other student to see the complexities. And afterward, she got up and hugged him. It was like out of a movie. It was a master class in how to have civil discourse, and still see the value of each other鈥檚 perspectives.
I tell my friends, I鈥檓 hopeful about the future because I teach.
鈥�Kara Stoltenberg, 12th grade English/language arts, Norman High School, Norman, Okla.
What are the moments of joy you鈥檝e experienced this school year? using the hashtag #K12Joy.
