A Bittersweet End

On Friday, my first "official" school year came to a close. It was a rather bitter-sweet end as I currently have no continuing contract thanks to budget cuts. It was also tough due in large part to a difficult job-sharing situation with a teacher who was completing an administrative internship and basically left all the teaching, grading, counseling etc. to me, but with half the pay and no respect.

I have spent most of the year working in a partnership with a person whom students have adored for years, who this year could not give them the time of day. I have been the teacher, the mentor, and the mom in a shared-custody agreement; I am the one doing the regular mundane every day tasks, and he would show up once a week and take them to Disneyland.

It's been a very tough year for me, but I have plodded on day in and day out, hoping my own efforts would in fact teach them, somehow make a difference in their young lives.

As I stood there (alone) at the honor roll assembly, I looked at my young students and felt a mixed blend of relief and sadness wash over me. Relief I would no longer have to endure the shenanigans and inconsistencies of my teaching partner (who was again not there,) sadness that I would no longer get to work with and teach my kids as they were moving on, and I was out of a job due to budgets.

There was one student in particular with whom I worked all year long. The student started out very slow and was often not even showing up to school. The student happens to be an athletic prodigy but had some emotional stuff to work through. The student had determined that they could get through school on their talent alone.
I thus had a "come to Jesus" meeting with the kid, sitting them down and telling the story of a young athlete I know, whose athletic career came to an end after they were hit in a tragic car accident. I explained that my friend, who was no longer able to play sports, still went to college however, because they were not only a good athlete, but also an excellent student. I then asked my student, "what's your plan B?" We talked again, days, weeks. And soon the student began to understand that everybody needs a backup plan. So I made a deal with the kid, "you get yourself on the honor roll and stay there, and I will come to your high school graduation and sit with your mom and cry my eyes out. Wherever you are, I will come and I will cheer for you; I'll write letters of recommendation, I'll call colleges on your behalf. Get yourself on the honor roll, stay there and then you'll not only have your athletic scholarship, you'll have an academic one as well.

After some constant follow up and encouragement from me and a commitment of hard work from them, that student not only finished strong, but finished with honors, both semesters; I was beaming.

What was surprising however, was that the mother of the same student came up and thanked me, not just for believing in her child, but for sticking with the kid and "helping" the child realize their own potential. There were tears, and I was very taken back by the gratitude and kindness. More so when the student came running up and hugged me. Then, they both said, "wherever you are Mrs. Scott, we're going to find you, so you can know how I'm doing."

To which I responded, "I'm counting on it."

Following her, another parent and their child did the same.

It was then I realized regardless of the inconsistencies and frustrations of my teaching partner, I did make a difference in these kids' lives, at least a few.

And so I end my year sad, but hopeful. I still don't know where I will be next year, but I am hopeful that something will eventually work out.