Thanks to my wonderful partner teacher, my students from last year threw me a surprise birthday party at lunch today. I cried, because I am a sap like that. Seeing all my students from last year in a room singing happy birthday to me made me a little emotional.
They even brought me flowers.
I showed my current students Barack Obama's third annual back to school speech today, and he said quite a bit about teachers:
"Let me say something about teachers, by the way. Teachers are the men and women who might be working harder than just about anybody these days. Whether you go to a big school or a small one, whether you attend a public or a private or charter school –- your teachers are giving up their weekends; they’re waking up at dawn; they’re cramming their days full of classes and extra-curricular activities. And then they’re going home, eating some dinner, and then they’ve got to stay up sometimes past midnight, grading your papers and correcting your grammar, and making sure you got that algebra formula properly.
And they don’t do it for a fancy office. They don’t -- they sure don’t do it for the big salary. They do it for you. They do it because nothing gives them more satisfaction than seeing you learn. They live for those moments when something clicks; when you amaze them with your intellect or your vocabulary, or they see what kind of person you’re becoming. And they’re proud of you. And they say, I had something to do with that, that wonderful young person who is going to succeed. They have confidence in you that you will be citizens and leaders who take us into tomorrow. They know you’re our future. So your teachers are pouring everything they got into you."
And they don’t do it for a fancy office. They don’t -- they sure don’t do it for the big salary. They do it for you. They do it because nothing gives them more satisfaction than seeing you learn. They live for those moments when something clicks; when you amaze them with your intellect or your vocabulary, or they see what kind of person you’re becoming. And they’re proud of you. And they say, I had something to do with that, that wonderful young person who is going to succeed. They have confidence in you that you will be citizens and leaders who take us into tomorrow. They know you’re our future. So your teachers are pouring everything they got into you."
It's all true, and it was nice to hear it from the president. But it's worth it. Today was a reminder of that.
Now I'm off to make some dinner and then grade some papers, just like Obama said.
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