I was tremendously honored today to be voted by my colleagues at Homestead Senior High School as the Rookie Teacher of the Year. It could not have happened on a better day, either - one of my favorite students from last year came by, and it was just so genuinely good to see him. He was super excited about everything, and we talked for almost an hour and at the end he said, you know you confirmed so many things Ive been thinking about - the kind of things teenagers wonder about but dont really know how they appear to other people, especially if they are happening in the context of tough circumstances. He also said how he aces all of his writing now because you made us write too much, all the time, and now I see why. I was thinking to myself how there are kids Ive taught, like him, that I hope to see grow up over the long-term, and its one of the reasons I see myself staying in South Florida. So to immediately after receive a vote of confidence from my colleagues - from a work environment that felt like a war zone a few years ago - is huge. I realized I have truly earned respect for what I do from the people around me. And I get to get up tomorrow morning and do more of it. I am really feeling blessed today.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 04:11:35 +0000