My students said goodbye
Friday was my official resignation day at Denali Elementary, but it was a parent conference day so I didn’t see the kids in my Emotionally Disturbed class. On Monday I stopped by the classroom to see the boys I have been working with and to pat each one of them on the back. I was a bit surprised by their sincere regret that I had to leave. These boys don’t always let on that they appreciate what we’re doing for them. I had been a teacher-aide in there for more than a year, had tutored them, played board games and wild fantasy games with them, chased them on the playground, and seem them at their manic best and their angry worst. In one year we had been through a lot together.
One little guy in particular gave me a hug as he headed out the door to get his meds from the nurse. “Ya know, Mr. V,” he said, “I’m gonna miss you. You’re my buddy. Thanks for helping me with my math and stuff.”
I was deeply moved. I gave him a hug back and told him I would miss him, too. And then I knew I had made the right decision. I had decided to resign from the school district rather than be transferred to another school. As a retired teacher I am blessed with some freedom to do such a thing. I only came out of retirement to help at Denali Elementary. If I were transferred to another school, I might never be able to transfer back to Denali. So now I’ll be unemployed for a while, but I’ll be able to stop by every few days to see the guys, and eventually another aide/tutor position will open up. As I left the classroom, I did my best Schwartzenegger imitation and said to the boys, “I’ll be back!”
