When I was named Teacher of the Year for our school I was instantly forwarded a packet of essays to complete. One of the questions was about what event significantly shaped you as a teacher and how it could encourage other teachers to remain in the profession. Y'all, I'm just a regular girl teaching in a regular classroom. Retaining teachers isn't really part of my job description. Sadly this year, one of my teacher besties is being displaced and I would like nothing more than to retain her position. I realize that's not what the question was asking me, and I needed to reread a little of those words February Rachel had, because June Rachel is TIRED. I'm not sure an empty classroom, void of all the love that was poured into it can convey, but I left school today feeling as empty as the place I had called my second home for the school year. I figured I might not be the only tired teacher that needed a little positivity as we go into summer.
When I graduated from UNCG in 2007 I was convinced I was going to change the world. As a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, I had traveled the state, learned about different school systems, met with district and community leaders and I was sure I had my whole career planned out. However, I was still a little bit of a realist. I had grown up in the very southernmost corner of Randolph County, attended school in Moore County where my mother taught, and I knew I wanted to work outside of her shadow. Upon moving home, I also wanted to work with a diverse population of students in the county I lived in. My very first interview at Ramseur Elementary, I was offered a third grade position. This was it! I was ready.
As it turns out, I wasn’t. Nothing was quite like the poverty, the demands, the schedule. My students were challenging. Many weren’t native English speakers, nearly all of them came from broken homes, most did not achieve proficiency. I was not wearing a superhero cape. When my husband and I got married in 2009, I relocated to Kernersville and took a position there. I cried and cried. Oddly enough, those students, especially the difficult ones, were my heart and soul. Even though I felt I never could do enough, I loved my students so much and we all grew tremendously those years I worked there.
Fast forward to Summer 2018, I received a Facebook message from a parent of a child that I had taught back in 2009. This student, in the fourth grade, was reading magazines I brought from home about chainsaws, because all he talked about was quitting school and working at his dad’s sawmill. His best buddy was barely reading in fourth grade. I still remember pulling level D books for him and it was a struggle to get through them. In her message, the mother invited me to attend these boys’ graduation from Eastern Randolph. We had just closed on our home in Sophia, and I was exhausted, but I hopped in my car and drove across the county. I saw my very last class of Ramseur students walk across the stage. I heard their names called. Students that struggled, that had very few role models, that wanted to quit school at nine years old. When I saw them after graduation, the boys hugged me, one lifting me slightly off the ground. I whispered, “Buddy, I am so, so proud of you,” and he excitedly showed me his diploma. “I’m so glad you were my teacher, Mrs. Henley. I never forgot about you,” was his response.
There are times, especially as elementary school teachers, we cannot immediately see the fruits of our labors. It’s important to note that the impact we make as teachers goes beyond the year we teach a child. While I have learned that you do not have to be a superhero to be a good teacher, that moment when I saw my students walk across the stage, I felt like I could fly.
I really hope to always have an impact on the children I teach and I'm so grateful to have had that moment with my students when they achieved success. Year 13 was certainly one for the books. Virtual teaching, multiple home visits, a lot of blurred boundaries, because my students' families definitely became an extension of my own. If you stuck with me this long, I'm curious, teacher friends... What are your moments that made the difference?
