Building Better People

I had one of those moments that makes me proud to be a teacher today.

I'm the 7th grade B-Team Coach. We do not cut anyone from football, so what that means is A-Team takes what they need, approximately 40% of the players, and the rest are on my team. This is made up of a few players who have played football before, but mostly students who this is their first time in an organized team sport. And then there is my student who is Resource. Oh, and I am supposed to make sure that all of my students have equal playing time.

Resource, for my non educator friends, is what we call the Special Education students. Now this particular kiddo is very high functions, but does have an IEP with some behavior goals. Before every game he comes up to me to clarify that he is 3rd string X receiver, and that his only responsibility is to block. He gets very excited when I affirm that he is correct, and gets ready to go in. Every practice and every game, I put him in for a few plays to make sure that his parents get the pictures of him in the game, and he gets the time allotted for him.

So there we are at practice today, fresh off of our loss to Hopper. I had all of my receivers lined up running routes against a Defensive Back and a Safety each (1 guy vs 2 for my non-football friends), when my student walks up to the line. He went out for a pass, and to my surprise, the Quarterback threw to him, AND HE CAUGHT IT! Without missing a beat, he turns up field to try and get to the endzone. All of my guys on defense dove at his feet, doing their best to make it look like they were really trying to get him. When our receiver finally made it to the endzone, he was greeted by the entire team where they did a Touchdown dance!

I did not coach these young men to do that. It was never mentioned previously. The decision to make one of their teammates feel like a superstar was one that they came up with. I know Christina tells me that it’s about building better people, and not necessarily about building better football players, but today I think I did both.

The next chapter

I know I haven't typed on here for the entire school year, and maybe one day I'll post about that. Tonight I want to reflect on what today and tomorrow means to me. 

Today was my last day as an elementary school teacher. As I waved goodbye to my students as their school buses drove by, I was also waving goodbye to my time in elementary. I have spent my entire career (9 years) in elementary. I still remember my last day at Holmsley. I was emotional as I packed my things, and said my goodbyes to my mentor teachers. I was a newbie. I had just completed my first year as a teacher, and still had no idea what I was doing. All that I knew was that I was moving from 2nd grade to a new grade level in a new school, surrounded by new people. Tomorrow is almost an exact parallel. I am moving from 2nd grade to a new grade level in a new (to me) school. It was definitely the right decision then, and I'm sure this is the right decision now.

When I started at M. Robinson, I never imagined the friendships that I would cultivate, or that I would meet my wife. I can safely say that M. Robinson has been my family for the last 8 years. We have been through some good times, and some rough times. So many different things have happened in our time together. I have seen some of my dearest friends move on to bigger and better things. I have seen some phenomenal teachers start their careers and develop into teachers who I want to be like. And the students... The students have been wonderful. Each year they come in excited to meet me, and each year we part with heartfelt hugs and goodbyes. I am going to miss them. 

Tomorrow I am leaving a campus who is responsible for my growth as a teacher and as an aspiring administrator. I have had the privilege of working under 2 different principals, with very different philosophies. Both effective in achieving similar results. I have had the opportunity to work in 3 different grade levels, with 7 different partners. I have started a family, furthered my education, and reached every milestone that I have set out to conquer. Thank you M. Robinson family for everything. May my voice and spirit still ring through the hallways with my KTK YouTube videos. It's time to start my next chapter.