My time at Cave City is almost over. Tomorrow is my last day, and I am so sad to have to say goodbye to these kids that I have grown to love so much. My time with them has been challenging, and there have been times that I wanted to give up. I have struggled with getting my 7th graders to be excited about the work that they did, and I've had a hard time getting my 9th graders to care about anything. However, in the past few months I have seen them grow more than I thought they ever would, and I could not be more proud.
My 7th graders have learned that their classes don't have to be boring. I have managed to bring the joy back into learning for them, and it has bee awesome to see their smiles and excitement in the classroom. My 9th graders? They have come so far that it is amazing. When I first started, the class average was 67. The class average is now 85. I think the only thing I did that helped them along was the same thing that I did for the 7th graders. I did my best to bring the joy back into learning. We had fun. We worked hard, but we had fun. We became friends, and they no longer looked at me as their enemy. They eventually were able to see that I am on their side and that it doesn't have to be me vs. them.
Now, I have to say goodbye to these kids, and this is harder than I though it would be. It's not just because I got to know them and learned to appreciate their silly quirks. I have learned just as much from these kids as they have learned from me. They taught me about patience. They taught me how to trust that my students will progress. They taught me to always focus on the good and try to improve the bad. I am sad to say goodbye to these kids because they have helped me grow, and for that, I will be forever grateful.
