allow me to toot

my own horn for a time. 

This, this is what makes leaving my teaching position pull at my heart, stretching it like taffy.  A former student of mine wrote this in a 2009 eighth grade essay , which just happened to make it down the hallway and into my hands:

My sixth grade teacher was also a major influence on me.  At the beginning of the year she told us that reading was reading no matter what book it was and you should read the kind of books you like.  And if you didn't like a book you were reading then just stop reading it.  Up until this point at HT, everything I read was required class reading and I guess I always looked at reading as school work.  In sixth grade we still had to read certain books that she picked, but we also got to choose some of our own.  So I started reading all the time and I haven't stopped since.  I read about three books a week during the school year and a lot more than that over the summer. 

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At the end of the year I had my students write a letter to me detailing what about my class they enjoyed, what could be improved upon, and how they would like me to remember them.  This student, whom I could call a "stinker", gave us a run for our money ALL YEAR LONG.  Unfortunately, he really isn't one of the ones I am sad to leave, but LOOK at what he wrote to me.  Makes me want to change my mind:

I think my reading journal helped me the most in Lit./LA.  I think this because it gave me a chance to express myself in a fun way.  I shared every day of the year except Tuesdays.  It was a good idea to do and helped keep me entertained and focused.....

...I would like you to remmember me as "the funny kid".  I say this because I think "funny" beats "talkative".  My hopes for next year are still to fix/change my attitude.  If we met in 5-10 years I would want to be a top student in my behavior and studys.  Thank you Mrs. Reinhart for having me and teaching me so much in 2009!  I enjoyed this class very much and hope you enjoyed having me.      

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I am excited about my new adventure with my own children.  But, man.  I will miss my other kids more than they'll ever know.