I'd like to take this time to publicly congratulate Patrick Connell. He was a fourth grade student of mine during my first year at Linden Elementary. This June he will graduate from high school and move on to the next step in his life.
I am very pleased and honored to have been invited to his graduation. This has been a personal wish I have had since I began teaching. I keep telling my students when they leave my classroom in June to remember me when they graduate and send me an invite. I always promised I would attend. Honestly, I haven't expected to get many takers on my offer. But to really get one? I am truly thrilled. Despite my recent feelings of burned out, disenchanted frustration, I am sincerely excited to attend and support Pat.
More about Pat: He came in like any other fourth grader with more interest in recess or fun or anything other than math or reading. He had a great attitude and personality though. His mom was his driving force. She loved Patrick and wanted the best for him. She came in openly asking for any and all advice I could offer. She followed through with everything I threw at her. She valued his education. It is refreshing for me to write this and remember there are parents out there like her. With his mom's help and his own work, Pat progressed through fourth grade quite well and has successfully moved on through middle and high school.
I look forward to talk to Pat again after commencement and hear his plans. I look forward to listening to that 10 year boy as an 18 year old man speak of what contributions he plans to make. And even though I only played a role in one year of his education, I am going to take some personal pride in it. After all this is why I went into teaching.
And I am not going to allow myself to sit here and beat myself up about the countless other students that have passed through my classroom without receiving the same experience Pat received. Instead I am going to focus on the fact that Pat made it. He was a great kid. And there were plenty of other great kids that I anm sure have followed the same path as Pat and I am going to trust that that is true.
Congrats Pat! Fine job!!
Rest in Peace: Paris Westmoreland of the same class.
2 comments:
Great story. Congratulations to Pat and to you. Is this the first year that your former students will be graduating?
Yeah this is the first group's graduating year. Hence the excitement. My first time getting to hear about this and see it. Thanks.
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