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Since I arrived home a few days ago, I have spent time reflecting on key takeaways from my seven week experience in Denver. Of the lessons I learned, one remains largely unmentioned in this blog; it's a fitting theme for my final entry, given that greater emotions are always prevalent at the end of a long journey and quest: the camaraderie that is forged through trying times and daily work.
While I quickly learned that teaching is a process and that each teacher needs a support network behind him or her, realizing that teaching, lesson planning, printing, crying, and cheering with others builds greater, often indestructible bonds came far later. It wasn't until I reflected on just how close the teaching fellows in my reading cohort under Ms. Karena became, or just how much I cared about the other teaching fellows in my daily carpool and club homeroom, that I experienced the raw power of teacher-to-teacher relationships. These relationships sincerely and unironically lift you up when stressors of the field seem as insurmountable and crushing at the mountains that surrounded us in Denver and inspire you, no matter what just happened during the previous lesson or how poorly you feel about your performance, to keep moving forward and grow with each failure.
Compared against all that happens to us in a year, five weeks is a rather short span of time, so it amazed me—and still does to this moment—just how deeply attached I became to the other teaching fellows who were in the trenches alongside me each daw to dusk. While it was unbelievably hard to say goodbye to far too many of them; especially those groups I previously mentioned and Christien, the STEM and improv teacher who I shared a classroom with; one of my compatriots said it best: "A few weeks ago, I didn't know any of you, and never would have without Generation Teach. So, instead of feeling sad at this goodbye, be happy that we all met each in the first place and can keep these friendships going." Wise words, indeed.
Words cannot express how thankful I am for this teaching experience. I earnestly believe that I learned more about myself during the past seven weeks than I have since beginning college, and I know, without a shadow of doubt, that I learned more from my students than they ever learned from me. I also can anticipate the actual field of education with a far clearer lens now and couldn't be more thankful for these insights, good and bad. Above all, teaching is a never-ending process of failure and growth and success. Teaching relies on humility and heart on an hourly basis. Teaching is, and must always remain, people-, rather than money-, centered. And, lastly, teaching is about interacting with and addressing the actual needs, strengths, and weaknesses of our students, coworkers, and administrators, and parents standing around us each day. Teaching must be and remain a realistic and informed profession rooted in developing the bright futures standing and sitting around us, and it must always lead from the heart.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I deeply appreciate those who read this blog and encouraged me along the way. I hope that I relayed my experiences in an interesting and engaging manner that at least some of you enjoyed. And, again, thank you to Eureka College and Generation Teach for making this experience possible and meaningful.
(If the photos below do not load, then please click on them. There should be captions for each, but if not, the first photo is of my classroom roommate Christien and I on our final day; second, my reading cohort sharing a laugh about mugshots, featuring, from left to right, me, Keisha, Jasmine, Emily, Ms. Karena, and Dillon; third and fourth, same cohort in different arrangements; fifth, my fantastic carpool, with Johnny, me, Caitlin, Leah (our impeccable driver), and Jasmine from left to right; sixth, Dillon and Freddie the Bat, our campus cheerleaders; and seventh, Freddie the Bat, who inspired us to work hard and have fun during our final days of teaching!)
