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All Good Things


I am packing up my classroom bit by bit and folder by folder. Most of the contents of folders are ending up in the recycling bin. They were good ideas at the time, but so much time has passed since I first stepped into this classroom. I have to cherish the teacher I have become while not losing sight of the teacher I was. I treasure my time as a new teacher. I value becoming a veteran. I have classroom war stories, like the time a student climbed up my wall of windows like a monkey, just to see if he could. Or the time that students kidnapped Bear and left a ransom note in his place. All good things.

Bear is in desperate need of help.

My first year teaching, students completed tasks whose answers were completely “Google-able.” There were enormous point values attached to each. 100 points for a book project. Students earned points simply for completing the project. There were no standards. The 2006 ELA core was “new” and the targets were simple. We were learning, all of us together. I learned how to be a teacher in this space, in this school. I grew up within these walls.
10 years later, and I am finding treasures as I clean out filing cabinets. Within the past few years, my need for my files in cabinets has disappeared altogether. Some other uses:

  • A space for student portfolios
  • A storage solution for iPad keyboards
  • A flat surface on which to hold my sound system
The files I am sorting through were good. I have impacted my students. I have grown in this space. But, there are other good things to come.

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