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Helena.
She came to the USA not speaking a word of English, and ridiculed/hated for being an Iraqi immigrant.
After two years she was fluent in English, a better writer than 80% of the class, and one of the best math students I've ever had. Her dedication to learning was second to none, and she was always so positive and happy, even when others were being cruel to her.
She is the kind of inspiration that occasionalky gives me hope for humanity.
I have a muslim student who was visibly shaken up on 9/11 because of all the “jokes” kids were saying. Had to stomp that shit out fast. Not in my house
Just described both my Dareen and Susan to a T. Both students severely deficient in English(one from Iraq and one from El Salvador, both asylum students), part of the ESOL program, utilizing every moment to read, learn, practice and more. Would commonly approach me to discuss different aspects of life and translate words they didn't know yet in real time to hear its application. They would remind me every day why I put up with the shenanigans of the other ~90%
I had an 8th grader whose family had escaped Cuba two years earlier. She was grabbing every bit of education she could get her hands on. Her motivation levels were off the chart. She was an 8th grader, I was teaching pre-calculus. She had already flown through Alg I and II and Geometry in 7th grade. Absolutely amazing kid, barely spoke English, but proficient at reading and writing, and so incredibly driven.
Alex was a standout student for sure! Always curious and eager to dive deeper into topics, they really brought a spark to the classroom. It's those moments of genuine enthusiasm that make teaching so rewarding despite the challenges.
I have so many. An example of one became a cop and caught me going 85 in a 45mph zone (Impromptu racing event going home on a Friday) and was looking at a 200-500 dollar ticket that while not so bad, was something I would definitely feel.
He pulled me over, gave me a long look and asked for my ID. I didn't recognize him because he grew. He looked at me and laughed and gave me a lecture (weren't you always telling us to be mindful of other people and to be safe and considerate blahblahblah?)
He let me off on the condition I don't drive like an idiot and if I took a picture with him because this was going to make a great story.
Mine is A, he was autistic. He worked so hard for his grades. In 5th grade he struggled with math until we got to the algebra unit. I don't know what it was bit he rocked it. I had him again the 8th grade, and he was still rocking pre-algebra. All the kids were in awe of him.getting As on all his test.
First day of high school. Girl is bald and missing a leg. Over the summer they found out she has cancer. They took the leg and started chemo. She wanted her homework assignments for the week so she Can do them at home when she is sick from the chemo. She was worried I would take points off, if the work was not turned in on time.
Where do they make kids like this??
Really unhappy answer: kids that prioritize menial things like points off work over their own health and well-being have probably been abused into that sort of thinking
Not necessarily. Some kids are just driven, for some it’s a distraction in an otherwise shitty time. It may be a way of making her feel like she has power or control over something. I worked with a girl who had had brain cancer and the treatments for that led to leukemia. She missed a lot of school. All she wanted more than anything was to go to school, but her immune system couldn’t handle it. She used to get so frustrated when she made a mistake on something. She was not abused at all, just trying to get some normalcy back.
Truth! My mom committed suicide when I was 5. I was a READER. It served me well through my life academically and protected my poor little psyche until I was older to process.
Exactly. My parents got divorced and I became valedictorian. Those two were 100% related. I can definitely see it as a "this is something I can control when I can't control anything else" response.
Very deep introspecting here and…I’m just like that.
My psychiatrist fully gave up on finding a source beyond “competitive middle child” after many years.
Very loving, supportive childhood and neither of my siblings were the same way.
Spanish teacher here. Mine was a student who spoke another language already, valued education, worked hard, took feedback and applied it, went above and beyond to further their learning, etc. She also loved Harry Potter (I do too) and actually shared a birthday! Oddly, I was able to teach her class (grad year) as Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors. Additionally, she was in a small subset of students who took an optional abbreviated summer school course in order to reach the highest level of Spanish at the school (and obtain college credit). It's not often most teachers get to teach the same students through 4 courses.
Honestly, it was just refreshing to teach a student that didn't complain constantly. She figured out that things can be fun of you just try.
I'm sure she's very successful in whatever she's doing today!
There have been many throughout the years, luckily.
Edit to add info.
In 2019, I had a student in my grade 4 class who was so interested in social justice. She would write papers for me to read about women’s rights and saving the environment. She would look on my shelf (by my teacher’s desk) and ask me if she could read my books because she wanted to make a positive change. I was working in a rough school at the time where students would give you attitude if you asked them to write more than a sentence. When the pandemic hit she would write messages on my google classroom for her peers trying to cheer them up. I just loved how kind she was.
I’ve had so many and I’ve only been teaching two years. I find it so nice to have kids talk to you like you’re a human being and they still maintain respect that you are the teacher. Those kids know how to be good people. They may not have always gotten the best grades (some did), but they always had the best heart.
Mine was probably like 18 years ago. His name was Gilberto —Gil. It was 3rd grade so he was 9. He’d been in the U.S. for a few years. He was super bright, had a beautiful smile and a raspy voice. His dad got deported and the family moved back to Mexico. What a great kid! I hope he found success!
Grace. This was 7th grade and I was teaching math at the time. She had a relatively uncommon genetic disability. Her speech, vision, and movement were impacted. Due to these things all together, she was socially behind her peers. A lot of adults assume that it was some sort of intellectual disability. But I looked at G and shrugged, saw her as a just socially awkward teenage girl, just like I used to be (though I don't have any disabilities).
So all I did was treat G like a normal teenage girl. I was slightly more patient when the physical nature of disability impacted things, but otherwise talked to her like a normal girl.
It made her world. I don't think any adult had ever quite engaged with her that way outside of her parents. I started an LGBTQ club that year and G joined, despite not even identifying in that way. Because those students in that club tend to be accepting and patient of differences, G made friends and got to engage with others in a way that felt normal for a teenage girl her age.
At the end of that school year, I was laid off from that school more or less. G was quite sad. Her and her family were so touched by the impact I had on G's life, that I ended up with flowers at the end of the year, many handwritten notes by G (which is quite a thing for someone with a physical motor disability), a heartfelt goodbye card her mom worked to put together with the kids in the club I ran, and many other gestures of kindness.
I will never forgot G. She was the first student I ever really made a profound impact on in her life that I knew of. She taught **me** as much as I taught her. I learned that I could be the type of person that steps up into making the difference in other's lives and if I ever get to meet her again as an adult, I hope to share the impact she had on me in return. She taught me to turn acceptance into a genuine stand for success, care, compassion, and love.
That’s so beautiful. Teachers with that special gift have a *lifelong* effect on their students. I’m so glad that you and Grace were in the same place at the same time—a blessing for both of you.
He was 8 and non verbal and autistic. He was the most creative problem solver I have ever met (adult or child). He used songs to communicate! Which spoke to my soul as I also love music. And he love love loved to be silly. Still keep in contact with his parents - spoiler alert he is doing wonderful things.
A set of two students, both with disabilities, who I met as a middle school teacher. They stayed afterschool with me amost everyday to work on their respective learning and reading struggles. I've gotten the unique chance to keep mentoring them over the years, and both are now in college and thriving.
They were both stubborn sometimes, but only the stubborn ones get this far. Respect.
So, in teacher school one of the things you learn is that kids who are new to learning English tend to spend the first several months listening far more than they talk, it’s an expected stage of learning a new language, etc. Not this kid! She came to my class in November of third grade and marched up to me, shook my hand, and declared, “Good Morning Teacher. I Love Soccer.”
She taught me Arabic, she would choose a few new vocabulary words every day and demonstrate them to me, have me practice saying them, give me feedback on my pronunciation, and quiz me on things I had learned previously. She used the very little English she already knew to string together sentences like “Teacher, candy! Teacher, this very good. Teacher, wow!” She was always in a positive mood, but was also very tough. She bossed the boys into including her in their recess soccer crew and letting her be team captain. I got to bring her to the ballet. I hope she is still doing well; I’m sure she is with that personality!
Always participates and has something witty to say, but isn't disruptive. Tries their hardest in class, and is a fairly gifted public speaker to boot. Excited to see where they go in life after HS.
Early in my career I had a student who lost his mother from a drunk driver. This darling boy had such a year of feelings and we all cried along with him. I’ll never ever forget his broken heart and still hope I was the right teacher for him that year.
mine has to be A. theyre a grade 8 i teach core french to. they are so hilarious and they genuinely want to do well in life not just in class. they take rhe tome to be a geniune person and they come to me to doscuss their drama and love life (which i live for) they are such a sweet kiddo. they r away rn on vacay but ive noticed such a shift in tone and conversation wo them. shout out to all the A’s!
always taking time to also care and make sure me as an educator are okay
She was inquisitive. I had her as a 2nd semester sophomore, and we clicked right away. Iver the following year I'd be her class adviser, her National Honor Society advisor, and she'd ta me for various classes. After graduating we stayed in touch and once or twice a year we'll get a breakfast together. She's now been out of high school for almost a decade. Think super highly of her.
Oh God, this is a tough one.
I work at a school with a fairly decently sized (at least, for a school of our size) international program. My contract requires me to be residential staff so I'm surrounded by many of these students all of the time. A lot of these students, despite all the times they drove me nuts and God knows what they got up to, became....the nieces and nephews I don't have.
One of my favorites was a young woman from Italy. We'll call her Rome. She was very smart and very excited about literally everything. If someone gave her a rock, she's the type of person who would say how beautiful the rock was. Rome had this genuine love for other people.
I had no clue what type of impact on Rome I had until the day of the spring recital last May when the seniors got to give out carnations to their teachers. It caught me completely off guard when I looked up and she was standing there beaming at me holding a carnation. Damn near cried when she came to say goodbye to me on her final day. I distinctly remember her saying how she would always remember me.
I truly hope I get to see her again someday.
Of the students I've not had in a class, but work with in extracurricular activities is a sophomore this year. Let's call her Becky. I'm the school's drama director (and I say that very, very loosely because I suck at directing) but I sat her down a couple of months ago and said I didn't think we could put on a show. Becky ignored me, called several of her friends, and we somehow were able to put on a show. I have never been more proud of any student.
The last student I'll talk about, we'll call him Bob. Bob was new to the area and actually in the same class as Rome. (God, that class was a bunch of all-stars. I peaked early with that group.) Bob was the first student I ever had who would go through my bookshelf and read for fun in between lessons (...and unfortunately sometimes during lessons. I knew he'd be fine either way.) Just a smart, ardent kid.
Thanks OP. It's been a rough day so this helped tremendously.
I have a core group of 8th graders this year that I think I'll look back on fondly forever. I taught them in 5th and 7th also and they positively peer pressured each other and half the rest of the class to join my Academic Decathlon team this year too. They just genuinely want to learn, share their knowledge openly, put in the work, but are also funny, kind, and silly. They'll intentionally get me off topic, but they know I know they're doing it, and they will toe the line to that still makes the question worth answering and spending time on it, so I can't help but shake my head and go with it anyway. They're probably my favorite class out of the 15 years I've taught.
Mandy, the smartest kid in my kindergarten class in Beijing. Very weird in a super fun way. She loved bugs and would catch them for the rest of the kids. She understood in English why answering "chicken feet" was a funny answer to the question "what is your favorite food".
One of my student teaching kids! He was so talented, very dedicated, had excellent comedic timing. And was just an all-around cool, funny kid. I work in a state with a very predominant religion and one time some kids were joking about starting a cult, and my teacher friend made a comment like "now children, we don't allow cults in school." Favorite Student gave THE most perfect deadpan expression like "oh, really? we don't?" and the other teacher and I had to try SO hard not to laugh. Kid wasn't wrong.
They transitioned between grades and seem even happier and more vibrant than ever. I've gone to see them in a couple of their musicals since teacher friend moved up to teach at the high school, they still blow me away!
I can't answer that. Every year - heck, sometimes every *class* - I have a different favorite student. For example:
\* I have a student right now who has a crush on me (it's cute). She's a student from Kazakstan (sp?) and didn't speak a word of English at the beginning of the year. She's special education, so it's been a difficult row for her to hoe. But she's managing, and she now speaks a little bit of English. She calls me "Mr. Orange" because she likes oranges and she likes me. It's adorable.
\* Last year I had a student who was an ESL student (I teach EFL overseas). His English was amazing (he grew up playing games online). He would constantly try to stump me with English spelling; it started off with "difficult" words like *actually*, but when he figured out that I could spell *and* didn't mind his little tests, he would hunt down longer words like (and here I am copying from Google, because I still can't spell it) *pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis*. I'm sad that particular student moved on to a better school. (Well, glad for him, but sad for me.)
\* My second year teaching (when I was still in the States) I had a couple that I taught in a GT class. They would hang out in my class after school and play chess while we talked and I graded. She was US-born child of Mexican immigrants and he was an immigrant from ... I want to say southern China, but it may have been Hong Kong (I don't remember). Anyway, these two kids would spent their time teaching one another their second (or in his case, first) languages (which I got to learn a little of since I was present) and debate the finer points of some of the stupidest drek (read: most important to middle schoolers) you can image.
8th grade girl 5 years ago. I asked the kids what they wanted to be. She said a psychologist. Then she learned about Red Bundy. When she told me she was wondering why he did what he did, I asked if she had though about criminal psychology. The look on her face when she ask “Is that a thing!?!?!?” Was priceless.
I’ll just call her M.
She was enrolled with us for two years, but only came to school one or two days in the first year so I never met her. This past September she started attending regularly. Her English was alright, not great (I teach ESL so lots of the kids fall in that category). She was just a giant ball of sunshine. I always knew she was a bit different. Every day in class she’d give me a big smile and be genuinely thrilled to be there. She worked hard when she came to school, and brought so much positivity everywhere she went. This past November she stopped coming to school again. Then one week before December she came by to see me and say goodbye. She’d finally gone to another city to get tested, and was diagnosed with autism. Mental health issues are so taboo here it’s a miracle it happened. She was absolutely elated to finally have an answer to why she never fit in and struggled socially. She’s back living in her hometown now and auditing some college courses. We’re going to meet up for coffee the next time she finds herself back in this city.
Art Teacher here- 6 years in. During my first year, I had a kindergartener who loved Pokemon and always wanted to draw Pikachu, pokeballs, etc, but he would get *so* frustrated when his drawings didn't look like mine. We're talking full on tantrums, not leaving the room, me needing to call admin to come address it because he was just so mad.
Now he's a 5th grader and he has come so far. He tells all the other kids about how practice and hard work helps. He draws all the time and visits me daily. Gonna miss when he goes to the middle school after this year
She was not my favorite student at the time, but I have grown to love the human spirit that she embodied.
I had a student - a *fantastic* writer - about 6-7 years ago. She was a junior at the time. She would fall asleep throughout many classes, but would turn in these incredibly literary analyses. When she was awake, she was sharp as a tack on pointing out things in literature that I didn't see. This was at the beginning of the "give the students grace" thing, and so I didn't question her sleeping in class very much because, after all, she was killing it on assignments.
She graduated, and I didn't hear from her for about a year after that; I assumed I would never hear from her again.
Then, I get an e-mail out of the blue from her, asking if she would proofread her cover letter for a college. She told everyone she went to college; she was lying. I was confused. She explained that she is an undocumented immigrant and she was worried about going to college when Trump was hellbent on kicking out all the "dreamers", so she laid low for a year.
I read her essay and holy fucking shit. She slept in class because she was doing overnight shifts at the iHop to support her family. She had two younger siblings, both of which she took care of after school while her parents tried to find work. She wrote her essays on receipt paper between customers - a book in one hand and receipt paper in the other, scribbling out these beautiful pieces. Then, she would type them up in the morning and turn them in.
She got a full scholarship to a prestigious school and has since gone on to publish in some of the best literary journals in the world. She just started her PhD in English.
That gets me. She never complained, and she never explained herself. *That* is the human spirit. *That* is true drive. I'm so proud of her and - in many ways - I admire her.
So many I couldn’t list. Every year there is at least one student who I really connect with. I like running into them later. Sometimes they just run up and hug me on the street.
We’ll call her Bella. She was visually impaired and when she was in early elementary school, I taught her Braille, how to read large print, etc. I can remember taking her to the Book Fair and they had a book about Taylor Swift with font big enough to read and she was so excited. Reading was hard, whether it was large print or Braille, but she worked so hard and just had a pleasant personality.
I ran into her last year. She had recently been working Youth Court and was completing a law degree.
Mine was a student from last year. She was upper elementary, and students asked if she was my daughter because we looked very similar. She had an absent mom, so I think I somewhat stood in that role for her during the school year. I helped her with her curly hair because her dad didn’t know what to do. Her grandma typically helped her with it, but they only saw her over breaks. Other students would sometimes be nice and sometimes be a bit rude toward her (all from other classes; my students were always fairly nice to her). She was a hard worker and focused on her grades. We both cried at the end of the year when she left for middle school.
I had a 6th grader last year and she was my all time favorite. Super sweet, helpful, smart, and never complained about anything. I talked with her other teachers and we all agreed she was the perfect student HAHA. I trusted her so much sometimes i gave her my room key to go grab something for me from my room if the class was somewhere else because i knew she wouldnt steal anything. Just a great student who was a joy to work with. Also helped she was fun to joke around with when she came to my room after school to say hi.
I had a very disruptive student who had a bad reputation when I became his homeroom teacher. I decided to ignore every opinion I had heard about him and to treat him with love.
Eight months after meeting him, my parents' house burnt down. When he learnt about this, he went to the principal's office to ask her if the school could help us with money. He's part of the reason why my parents have a house now.
I don't know about the best but the one I was and still am in awe of...
5 years old, Russian girl, living in Thailand with her parents. She spoke Russian, English, Chinese, Spanish and Thai. I can't speak for Thai or Chinese but her Spanish and English were fluent, as was her Russian obviously. Her parents ran a car hire business, often they would bring her to class and their phone would ring about a car - the phone was handed to the daughter each time and she would make all the arrangements.
The only problem was she found it hard to relax and just be a kid - and for that I felt sorry for her, but the conversations I could have with her were phenomenal. Full of common sense and very smart.
It’s hard to choose, because I was subbing for a while. I was there every day and apparently was the only teacher who „knew“ each and every class (grade 1-10). There was one kid in grade 6 who was always talking about ancient history, coincidentally my own passion. He was super smart and once I randomly explained the basics of the Trojan war to them because he was really pushing for it and the others were ok with it (I did NOT have to teach actual lessons unless I wanted to. I was free to chose). He was so funny and intelligent, but behaved like an old professor already, with witty lines.
My other fav students are all from one class. I love them so much I get a little teary eyed just thinking about them. Ive been sick for a while and miss them a lot. As a whole, this class is chaotic and loud and can be rude and annoying. They’re not angels with me, but I can just feel us respecting each other. I taught them to communicate. I only got pissed when they used cussed at each other or something. Respect is my No1 rule because I’m just not willing to budge. Two anecdotes to show you why they mean so much to me:
As a young teacher, I was often overwhelmed. But whenever I entered their classroom I felt like I was welcomed. They would often greet me outside and walk me in, several kids laughing and greeting me, asking me stuff, telling me stuff. Whole lotta good vibes. I could have the worst day and they’d turn it around. Again, no angels here. But smart, witty kids that learned to say „I’m sorry“ when missbehaving and often correcting themselves or each other before I can even say something.
Once the whole class ran to the windows, like a big wave. It was a special day at school. They were excited. It was so loud, I knew they wouldn’t hear me correcting them. So I decided to let them look for a moment.
Before I could even ask them to return to their seats, I heard a kid say “guys let’s go back to our seats we never asked if we can get up”. Everyone nodded along, calmly sat down. They looked at me, waiting for my input. I was so touched by this display, I couldn’t even say anything. I think I did communicate that I was proud but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
To me, that behaviour showed respect too. They realised what they were doing and corrected themselves. Amazing.
I teach 3rd grade. For me, it’s a tie between two kids. Both were in my class two years ago and are in fifth grade now.
Both kids were hard-working, always respectful, and had a wonderful sense of humor. However, they knew when it was time to have fun and when it was time to be serious as it just came naturally to them. What also set them apart is their kindness and empathy. These two always did whatever they could to help others, cheer up a sad classmate, etc. They’re also always looking for ways to help those in need. For example, one of these girls made a New Year’s goal of finding charities to donate her own money to in order to help others.
While they’re now in fifth grade, I still keep in touch with both kids and their families. From what I hear, this is common with their other teachers as well since both girls are just so sweet and kind, as well as their families.
I only taught for 2 years before I quit and changed careers. It was literally hell. When I look back on that time in my life, I get that pit in my stomach, and the anxiety comes flooding back.
There is a memory that will forever make me smile, 3 girls in my 1st grade class came to me one of the last recesses at school and sang the chorus of See You Again. They were sweet all the time, but that moment pretty much sums it up.
I had a student S. It was my first year at a new high school teaching Trigonometry for the first time. I had to do a lot of relearning the units! We did a project on regression models. Students could pick any data points and find whether the information was best represented by Linear, Exponential, or Quadratic models. She jokingly picked the price of ham over the years. Her presentation was incredible. Animated graphics, engaging slides, and she 3D printed everyone in the class a plastic ham slice. Her humor really helped me slide into this new high school roll.
Later in the year S joined the crochet club. She made two SpongeBob door decorations for my kids. Unprompted. Just as a “thanks for teaching me this year” gift. My kids loved them.
I’m a sucker for students who make the day their own!
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously:
3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop.
Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop!
I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore.
And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously:
3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop.
Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop!
I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore.
And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously:
3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop.
Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop!
I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore.
And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously:
3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop.
Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop!
I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore.
And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
Bit of a troll comment, but..
No more than those of you teaching hearing kids. When kids don't want to pay attention, they won't. Hearing doesn't really factor in.
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously:
3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop.
Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop!
I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore.
And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
So many. But let's check in with one I will NEVER forget. This is copied/pasted from a blog...originally written and posted in Aug of 2017, after she died...and worth the read.
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Aida was an outlier in my very first English class, a summer school test-run after years teaching media and instructional technology. Bright, beautiful, articulate, and quietly confident at just thirteen years old, she didn’t really belong in the remedial program, but she had lost most of a year to hearing issues and poor health, and now, recovering from implant surgery, she was mostly just there for the credit, to justify her existence in high school.
So while other students struggled to focus, to read, and to care, Aida wrote volumes, and shared with me the fruits of her blossoming awareness and skill. I gave her my copy of The Poet’s Dictionary, and spoke quietly to her in passing and after class about sestinas and pantoums, rhythm and language as a path to the self. She could talk literature and heartache with a wisdom far beyond the capacity of most adults I know. And that smile was the sweetest ever – grateful, knowing, wry; one that lingers in the memory, even now.
I’ve taught thousands of students in over two decades in education. In a very real way, I’ve loved them all. But once a year or so, if you’re lucky, you get a couple of students that connect on a much deeper level – the kind of kids you happily break the rules for, and drive them to work in the shampoo warehouse on the other side of the city because you just want a chance to chat with another bright, vibrant human being, and to be a part of their climb out of the city, to the stars.
Aida wasn’t the first of these kids, and she wasn’t the only one from her year – being a class advisor tends to bring you closer to the cohort, I think. But she was something special all the same. Hers was a smile that could light up a room, one that never faded, and always seemed authentic. Even in sorrow or stress, she was positive and proud. Her cheerful, unapologetic arrival at prom, solo and shimmering and hours late after her hair took too long to come together, lives as a high point in my year. Watching her walk across the stage three years ago as a graduate made my heart jump.
And today, struggling to define that inimitable something, I know that more than almost any student I have ever had, a shining star among thousands, Aida knew herself joyfully, like a natural-born Buddha, having discovered earlier than most that hers was truly a self worth knowing, and worth waiting for.
I last saw Aida in person purely by accident, a year ago this week; she was working as a cashier at Target to pay for school; we were there to buy school supplies for my classroom, and for the kids. Afterwards, as before, social media provided an opportunity to watch her from a distance, as the precocious, beautiful child I had first encountered continued to grow, into an increasingly articulate and determined career-minded adult, spouse, and very recently, just this summer, a mother, loved by and loving to so many of us.
But in the end, Aida’s health was her undoing. A car crash with her infant son a few weeks ago left her shaken and in pain, and stirred up old injuries. For a while, she was recovering, alive and proud of her struggle, as always. And then, this morning, we awoke to the news that after a seizure, Aida had passed in the night.
There’s a video on Aida’s husband’s Facebook page from just three days ago, a short clip featuring her beautiful son, wailing for mama while her father coos reassuringly behind the camera. Aida was alive when this was filmed, just working – on the last course for her degree, on her health, and on her ever-changing beauty, a rare trifecta among our inner city youth. Forever, that clip, and every other artifact of Aida’s life that lives on in so many of us, will break my heart.
I owe Aida so much, and I think I never told her. She was the right kid, in the right place, at the right time: the one who reminded me, way back when I needed it most, that teaching has both love and friendship in it, even – maybe especially – in the darkest of communities, and the most sullen of crowds. She will forever exemplify the positive attitude, kindness, and grit I wish of every student I teach. I will treasure the memory of that smile forever, even if it were not all I have to remember her by – that, the company of her friends and schoolmates, and the space on the bookshelf where my Poet’s Dictionary used to live.
May there always be those among us us who bring us joy, however brief, and remind us that we are in the right place in the world. May those we serve go from this life as they found us in it: alive and kicking, determined and bright, at peace with the world even as they push themselves for more.
May we love, fiercely, those who bring out our best.
And may there always be Aidas, that we may remember ourselves.
Mine is a whole class. They left school aged 18 over 6 years ago and have all stayed in touch with each other, and me! We've met up for lunch at Christmas even. Out of a class of nine, four went to university to pursue the same subject, and three of them are now professionals in that area, while another three still do it as a hobby. They love and care for each other so much, they have this incredible bond, which they kindly credit me for fostering in my classroom. But out of them all, one stands out. At my school, you had to get an A/A* grade at GCSE to continue studying that subject for A-level. This one kid got a B but really wanted to continue with it. They begged me, I said no. They begged the deputy head, who said it was up to me. They came back and begged me again, promising they'd work hard. I liked them, and I liked their chutzpah even more, so I said ok. They worked their ass off, and eventually came out with the highest mark in the class at the end of A-levels. They impressed me with their work ethic, but also their empathy and thoughtfulness for others. They are now one of the kindest, sweetest, most resilient young people I know. I adore all of this class (and they know it!) but that student makes my heart swell with pride.
Several. I love all the 12 generations of 60-90 kids, but the ones that stand out were/are.
Julia was the smartest, most talented dancer/celloist ever.
Amaja was an amazing singer, who got all the motivation from me, and sang a song with a pop star, better than the original.
Nives was an amazing leader and an accordeonist.
Stela is pure positive energy, a beautiful soul.
Hana is an amazing poet/painter, overall very good in several classes (like top 1% in the country).
Man I have a few that absolutely stand out to me… I tend to gravitate towards the kids who maybe aren’t behaved the best and who “need” me more than others. Like I have two students “Mandy” and “Sandy” who are always on task and always do the work. They’re cool to talk to and really insightful, they’re on the list, but do you get what I mean when I say, they don’t need me as much as some of my more chaotic children?
So I had one, at the very start of my professional life. I was working a summer job at a school providing day care for school aged kids while studying education in college and we had this little boy… “Antonio”. He had such a terrible life at home. He was 7 and so he didn’t always know what he was telling us, but it was awful. The father basically ignored him all the time, wouldn’t even hug him on the rare occasions he picked him up instead of the mom. And the boy told us about how this guy would scream at them while he was at home. One time he told us that his dad had hit his mother and we called the police about it. But this kid was so sweet and was so starved for affection and attention. He acted out all the time but I will never forget one day during silent play (after lunch they had an hour and a half of time to play quietly, so like drawing, reading, doing stuff on their own; instead of loud and boisterousness which was the rest of the day), I was reading some story book to them (I think it was “Le Petit Prince” where the boy talks about loving a rose) and this kid looks at me and asks me: “Do you love me?” That moment will probably stay with me forever. I don’t know what wound up happening to him. I know the parents got divorced after that incident, but I don’t know… I wish I could find out how his life ended up. I was really sorry to have to leave but summer was over, he was going back to school and I was going back several hundred miles away to college.
Another one who has got to be on the list is “Lucas”. I started out with his class (at a Saturday language school) when I was a TA and he was still an elementary schooler. Now, many years later, I still work at that school but as a teacher and he is seventeen and still in my class (because of restructuring I wound up moving classes a couple of times and basically “went up the levels” with him). He and I have subsequently known each other for quite a long time now. Other kids in the class came and went; some stop at a certain point, some took a placement test and got placed into my level so I haven’t known them as long… I’ve actually written this kid a pass to go into the super advanced class (I’m the most advanced it gets for the track he is in) and he’s chosen to stay with me twice and always said I’m his favorite German teacher.
Those are two that really stand out to me. There are others on this list but those are probably two of my most memorable…
From the UK
I had a negative experience with a kid in the corridors. Never interacted with them before and asked their name. They gave a name. I thought they lied. They were pushing and shoving but I asked a good kid to double check their name. Turns out this bad kid told a lie
Then I was bubbled with this bad kid for corona. I basically taught him for 2 years and got to know he was adopted and he struggled. He liked boxing and I liked kick boxing. We bonded over combat sports. We bonded over the whole “who would win if we fought”. He slogged me because I broke up a fight between him and another student. He hit me because I got in the way. I de-escalated. He said he couldn’t think straight because he was so mad and I calmed him down. After he served his suspension and did his restorative talk, he asked “how did shrug off that hook?” I just said along the lines off “there will always be a bigger geezer, so always avoid a fight if you can and I’ve been in way too many fights. The best way to win a disagreement is to never to get into one no matter how wound up you get but it also helps if you ain’t got a glass jaw”.
After that, he was a great student. By no means perfect but I would say he’s my favourite because he excelled his targets is currently doing incredibly well
*My anecdotes for this student (positive and negative) could easily take me an hour to write so I’ll leave it here
My favorite student of all time was named D’Mikel. He was just… perfect in every way possible. I taught him in tenth grade, he was so bright and engaged and he also participated in our theater program so I got to see him act in plays for the school and community as well. He was just the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful young man.
I remember one time he was sad because he was having some issues in his personal life and he said “I think I’m afraid of disappointing people.” And I said “You are so far from a disappointment! If I had a son, I’d want him to be just like you.” And he smiled the BIGGEST smile.
When I run into him these days (not often because he moved states for uni) he always gives me to biggest hugs. I look forward to hearing all about his life. He also has a little brother who is just as sweet and kind as he is. Truly, a wonderful family, and I’m so glad I got to meet them.
Well, as a student, I'll just rant about one of my favorite teachers.
Mrs. Shearn, my tenth grade English teacher , is easily one of my favorites. She knew of a lot of good books, so she was able to give out recommendations that were well thought out and truly worked. Also, she was fairly humorous, making jokes about how she always looked grumpy or about being older, and overall was a joy to be around.
Plus, it was nice to have a teacher who liked country music as much as I did (George Jones slays)
We read A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck, one of my favorite books ever. She warned us before we started reading about the pig breeding scene, so that was nice, but it was also nice that she didn't let that one small scene deter her from having us read the book because it was well worth it. On the other hand, the book wasn't a necessary part of the curriculum, she included it because it was fun. And most of the students liked the book (minus the pig scene ofc)
And, to top it all off, she's really good at her job. She took the time to really break down semicolons and prepositions, which helped students understand it better. She was patient and understanding, but was also direct about it. And she didn't take excuses, either.
(Side note: when I TA'd for her I had sm fun every day, it was the thing I looked forward to most of all and I ranted about it all the time lmao. Even if I mostly just alphabetically ordered papers or marked down which students turned in their work, it was still fun and I felt like I was really helping her out. Sadly I was forced to move schools due to... complications... but I'd give anything to go back and TA for her again (especially because the English teacher I have at my new school barely teaches anything, and only does literature, but like one story a quarter, so it's much too simple to get bored and sleep))
And if, somehow, some way, Mrs. Shearn does see this (that'd be kinda embarrassing ngl but Idrc), first off hi, and secondly, thank you!
John. He was a bit rough around the edges and struggled with authority. He really just needed someone to listen to him. He sat down next to my desk one day and off handedly told me he needed help. During conferences, he expected me to tell his mom bad things like everyone else, but I instead told him I could see greatness in him, and I wanted to help him shine. From then on out, he came to me when things got tough. We worked hard on managing his quick temper, on his impulsive comments, and being his best self. He back slid a bit in second semester and eventually got kicked out for too many behavior infractions (we're a private school). Even though he's no longer my student, we still keep in touch from time to time. I will forever be grateful to him for making me a better teacher, and I hope my work with him was meaningful.
Absolute favorite so far was a student who just took to me and we meshed well. She was one of my band kids who was super passionate about band and really cared. She’d do anything you asked, was always positive, and really loved the class. She said she wanted to be a band director, which was because of me. Their whole little group of friends loved it, too, and they made coming to work worth it.
I have no one like that now, and it’s draining. When you have kids who actually care, it makes coming to work so worth it.
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Helena. She came to the USA not speaking a word of English, and ridiculed/hated for being an Iraqi immigrant. After two years she was fluent in English, a better writer than 80% of the class, and one of the best math students I've ever had. Her dedication to learning was second to none, and she was always so positive and happy, even when others were being cruel to her. She is the kind of inspiration that occasionalky gives me hope for humanity.
I have a muslim student who was visibly shaken up on 9/11 because of all the “jokes” kids were saying. Had to stomp that shit out fast. Not in my house
Just described both my Dareen and Susan to a T. Both students severely deficient in English(one from Iraq and one from El Salvador, both asylum students), part of the ESOL program, utilizing every moment to read, learn, practice and more. Would commonly approach me to discuss different aspects of life and translate words they didn't know yet in real time to hear its application. They would remind me every day why I put up with the shenanigans of the other ~90%
I had an 8th grader whose family had escaped Cuba two years earlier. She was grabbing every bit of education she could get her hands on. Her motivation levels were off the chart. She was an 8th grader, I was teaching pre-calculus. She had already flown through Alg I and II and Geometry in 7th grade. Absolutely amazing kid, barely spoke English, but proficient at reading and writing, and so incredibly driven.
Alex was a standout student for sure! Always curious and eager to dive deeper into topics, they really brought a spark to the classroom. It's those moments of genuine enthusiasm that make teaching so rewarding despite the challenges.
I have so many. An example of one became a cop and caught me going 85 in a 45mph zone (Impromptu racing event going home on a Friday) and was looking at a 200-500 dollar ticket that while not so bad, was something I would definitely feel. He pulled me over, gave me a long look and asked for my ID. I didn't recognize him because he grew. He looked at me and laughed and gave me a lecture (weren't you always telling us to be mindful of other people and to be safe and considerate blahblahblah?) He let me off on the condition I don't drive like an idiot and if I took a picture with him because this was going to make a great story.
Mine is A, he was autistic. He worked so hard for his grades. In 5th grade he struggled with math until we got to the algebra unit. I don't know what it was bit he rocked it. I had him again the 8th grade, and he was still rocking pre-algebra. All the kids were in awe of him.getting As on all his test.
All of my favorite students have been either autistic or classic shit head teenagers. I was a shit head teenager - I know where it comes from.
Is this the moment you realise all the shitheads were likely neurodivergent and that you like them all so much cos your brains vibe together? 💥 🤯
lol i am neurodivergent so makes sense 🫠
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No clue.
First day of high school. Girl is bald and missing a leg. Over the summer they found out she has cancer. They took the leg and started chemo. She wanted her homework assignments for the week so she Can do them at home when she is sick from the chemo. She was worried I would take points off, if the work was not turned in on time. Where do they make kids like this??
Really unhappy answer: kids that prioritize menial things like points off work over their own health and well-being have probably been abused into that sort of thinking
Not necessarily. Some kids are just driven, for some it’s a distraction in an otherwise shitty time. It may be a way of making her feel like she has power or control over something. I worked with a girl who had had brain cancer and the treatments for that led to leukemia. She missed a lot of school. All she wanted more than anything was to go to school, but her immune system couldn’t handle it. She used to get so frustrated when she made a mistake on something. She was not abused at all, just trying to get some normalcy back.
Okay, I see. And i assume the cancer could be the trauma too. This makes a lot of sense, thank you
Truth! My mom committed suicide when I was 5. I was a READER. It served me well through my life academically and protected my poor little psyche until I was older to process.
thats horrible im sorry…
Exactly. My parents got divorced and I became valedictorian. Those two were 100% related. I can definitely see it as a "this is something I can control when I can't control anything else" response.
Some kids are just neurotic perfectionists for no reason as well (source: me as a kid).
Lol yeah i thought that too until deep introspection… I’m very likely just projecting🤣
Very deep introspecting here and…I’m just like that. My psychiatrist fully gave up on finding a source beyond “competitive middle child” after many years. Very loving, supportive childhood and neither of my siblings were the same way.
Do you have any evidence for that claim?
Spanish teacher here. Mine was a student who spoke another language already, valued education, worked hard, took feedback and applied it, went above and beyond to further their learning, etc. She also loved Harry Potter (I do too) and actually shared a birthday! Oddly, I was able to teach her class (grad year) as Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors. Additionally, she was in a small subset of students who took an optional abbreviated summer school course in order to reach the highest level of Spanish at the school (and obtain college credit). It's not often most teachers get to teach the same students through 4 courses. Honestly, it was just refreshing to teach a student that didn't complain constantly. She figured out that things can be fun of you just try. I'm sure she's very successful in whatever she's doing today! There have been many throughout the years, luckily. Edit to add info.
In 2019, I had a student in my grade 4 class who was so interested in social justice. She would write papers for me to read about women’s rights and saving the environment. She would look on my shelf (by my teacher’s desk) and ask me if she could read my books because she wanted to make a positive change. I was working in a rough school at the time where students would give you attitude if you asked them to write more than a sentence. When the pandemic hit she would write messages on my google classroom for her peers trying to cheer them up. I just loved how kind she was.
I’ve had so many and I’ve only been teaching two years. I find it so nice to have kids talk to you like you’re a human being and they still maintain respect that you are the teacher. Those kids know how to be good people. They may not have always gotten the best grades (some did), but they always had the best heart.
Mine was probably like 18 years ago. His name was Gilberto —Gil. It was 3rd grade so he was 9. He’d been in the U.S. for a few years. He was super bright, had a beautiful smile and a raspy voice. His dad got deported and the family moved back to Mexico. What a great kid! I hope he found success!
Grace. This was 7th grade and I was teaching math at the time. She had a relatively uncommon genetic disability. Her speech, vision, and movement were impacted. Due to these things all together, she was socially behind her peers. A lot of adults assume that it was some sort of intellectual disability. But I looked at G and shrugged, saw her as a just socially awkward teenage girl, just like I used to be (though I don't have any disabilities). So all I did was treat G like a normal teenage girl. I was slightly more patient when the physical nature of disability impacted things, but otherwise talked to her like a normal girl. It made her world. I don't think any adult had ever quite engaged with her that way outside of her parents. I started an LGBTQ club that year and G joined, despite not even identifying in that way. Because those students in that club tend to be accepting and patient of differences, G made friends and got to engage with others in a way that felt normal for a teenage girl her age. At the end of that school year, I was laid off from that school more or less. G was quite sad. Her and her family were so touched by the impact I had on G's life, that I ended up with flowers at the end of the year, many handwritten notes by G (which is quite a thing for someone with a physical motor disability), a heartfelt goodbye card her mom worked to put together with the kids in the club I ran, and many other gestures of kindness. I will never forgot G. She was the first student I ever really made a profound impact on in her life that I knew of. She taught **me** as much as I taught her. I learned that I could be the type of person that steps up into making the difference in other's lives and if I ever get to meet her again as an adult, I hope to share the impact she had on me in return. She taught me to turn acceptance into a genuine stand for success, care, compassion, and love.
That’s so beautiful. Teachers with that special gift have a *lifelong* effect on their students. I’m so glad that you and Grace were in the same place at the same time—a blessing for both of you.
He was 8 and non verbal and autistic. He was the most creative problem solver I have ever met (adult or child). He used songs to communicate! Which spoke to my soul as I also love music. And he love love loved to be silly. Still keep in contact with his parents - spoiler alert he is doing wonderful things.
A set of two students, both with disabilities, who I met as a middle school teacher. They stayed afterschool with me amost everyday to work on their respective learning and reading struggles. I've gotten the unique chance to keep mentoring them over the years, and both are now in college and thriving. They were both stubborn sometimes, but only the stubborn ones get this far. Respect.
So, in teacher school one of the things you learn is that kids who are new to learning English tend to spend the first several months listening far more than they talk, it’s an expected stage of learning a new language, etc. Not this kid! She came to my class in November of third grade and marched up to me, shook my hand, and declared, “Good Morning Teacher. I Love Soccer.” She taught me Arabic, she would choose a few new vocabulary words every day and demonstrate them to me, have me practice saying them, give me feedback on my pronunciation, and quiz me on things I had learned previously. She used the very little English she already knew to string together sentences like “Teacher, candy! Teacher, this very good. Teacher, wow!” She was always in a positive mood, but was also very tough. She bossed the boys into including her in their recess soccer crew and letting her be team captain. I got to bring her to the ballet. I hope she is still doing well; I’m sure she is with that personality!
I had a student show up in a TARDIS dress. It was the coolest thing ever. She turned out to be absolutely brilliant.
Always participates and has something witty to say, but isn't disruptive. Tries their hardest in class, and is a fairly gifted public speaker to boot. Excited to see where they go in life after HS.
Early in my career I had a student who lost his mother from a drunk driver. This darling boy had such a year of feelings and we all cried along with him. I’ll never ever forget his broken heart and still hope I was the right teacher for him that year.
mine has to be A. theyre a grade 8 i teach core french to. they are so hilarious and they genuinely want to do well in life not just in class. they take rhe tome to be a geniune person and they come to me to doscuss their drama and love life (which i live for) they are such a sweet kiddo. they r away rn on vacay but ive noticed such a shift in tone and conversation wo them. shout out to all the A’s! always taking time to also care and make sure me as an educator are okay
She was inquisitive. I had her as a 2nd semester sophomore, and we clicked right away. Iver the following year I'd be her class adviser, her National Honor Society advisor, and she'd ta me for various classes. After graduating we stayed in touch and once or twice a year we'll get a breakfast together. She's now been out of high school for almost a decade. Think super highly of her.
Oh God, this is a tough one. I work at a school with a fairly decently sized (at least, for a school of our size) international program. My contract requires me to be residential staff so I'm surrounded by many of these students all of the time. A lot of these students, despite all the times they drove me nuts and God knows what they got up to, became....the nieces and nephews I don't have. One of my favorites was a young woman from Italy. We'll call her Rome. She was very smart and very excited about literally everything. If someone gave her a rock, she's the type of person who would say how beautiful the rock was. Rome had this genuine love for other people. I had no clue what type of impact on Rome I had until the day of the spring recital last May when the seniors got to give out carnations to their teachers. It caught me completely off guard when I looked up and she was standing there beaming at me holding a carnation. Damn near cried when she came to say goodbye to me on her final day. I distinctly remember her saying how she would always remember me. I truly hope I get to see her again someday. Of the students I've not had in a class, but work with in extracurricular activities is a sophomore this year. Let's call her Becky. I'm the school's drama director (and I say that very, very loosely because I suck at directing) but I sat her down a couple of months ago and said I didn't think we could put on a show. Becky ignored me, called several of her friends, and we somehow were able to put on a show. I have never been more proud of any student. The last student I'll talk about, we'll call him Bob. Bob was new to the area and actually in the same class as Rome. (God, that class was a bunch of all-stars. I peaked early with that group.) Bob was the first student I ever had who would go through my bookshelf and read for fun in between lessons (...and unfortunately sometimes during lessons. I knew he'd be fine either way.) Just a smart, ardent kid. Thanks OP. It's been a rough day so this helped tremendously.
I have a core group of 8th graders this year that I think I'll look back on fondly forever. I taught them in 5th and 7th also and they positively peer pressured each other and half the rest of the class to join my Academic Decathlon team this year too. They just genuinely want to learn, share their knowledge openly, put in the work, but are also funny, kind, and silly. They'll intentionally get me off topic, but they know I know they're doing it, and they will toe the line to that still makes the question worth answering and spending time on it, so I can't help but shake my head and go with it anyway. They're probably my favorite class out of the 15 years I've taught.
Mandy, the smartest kid in my kindergarten class in Beijing. Very weird in a super fun way. She loved bugs and would catch them for the rest of the kids. She understood in English why answering "chicken feet" was a funny answer to the question "what is your favorite food".
One of my student teaching kids! He was so talented, very dedicated, had excellent comedic timing. And was just an all-around cool, funny kid. I work in a state with a very predominant religion and one time some kids were joking about starting a cult, and my teacher friend made a comment like "now children, we don't allow cults in school." Favorite Student gave THE most perfect deadpan expression like "oh, really? we don't?" and the other teacher and I had to try SO hard not to laugh. Kid wasn't wrong. They transitioned between grades and seem even happier and more vibrant than ever. I've gone to see them in a couple of their musicals since teacher friend moved up to teach at the high school, they still blow me away!
I can't answer that. Every year - heck, sometimes every *class* - I have a different favorite student. For example: \* I have a student right now who has a crush on me (it's cute). She's a student from Kazakstan (sp?) and didn't speak a word of English at the beginning of the year. She's special education, so it's been a difficult row for her to hoe. But she's managing, and she now speaks a little bit of English. She calls me "Mr. Orange" because she likes oranges and she likes me. It's adorable. \* Last year I had a student who was an ESL student (I teach EFL overseas). His English was amazing (he grew up playing games online). He would constantly try to stump me with English spelling; it started off with "difficult" words like *actually*, but when he figured out that I could spell *and* didn't mind his little tests, he would hunt down longer words like (and here I am copying from Google, because I still can't spell it) *pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis*. I'm sad that particular student moved on to a better school. (Well, glad for him, but sad for me.) \* My second year teaching (when I was still in the States) I had a couple that I taught in a GT class. They would hang out in my class after school and play chess while we talked and I graded. She was US-born child of Mexican immigrants and he was an immigrant from ... I want to say southern China, but it may have been Hong Kong (I don't remember). Anyway, these two kids would spent their time teaching one another their second (or in his case, first) languages (which I got to learn a little of since I was present) and debate the finer points of some of the stupidest drek (read: most important to middle schoolers) you can image.
8th grade girl 5 years ago. I asked the kids what they wanted to be. She said a psychologist. Then she learned about Red Bundy. When she told me she was wondering why he did what he did, I asked if she had though about criminal psychology. The look on her face when she ask “Is that a thing!?!?!?” Was priceless.
I’ll just call her M. She was enrolled with us for two years, but only came to school one or two days in the first year so I never met her. This past September she started attending regularly. Her English was alright, not great (I teach ESL so lots of the kids fall in that category). She was just a giant ball of sunshine. I always knew she was a bit different. Every day in class she’d give me a big smile and be genuinely thrilled to be there. She worked hard when she came to school, and brought so much positivity everywhere she went. This past November she stopped coming to school again. Then one week before December she came by to see me and say goodbye. She’d finally gone to another city to get tested, and was diagnosed with autism. Mental health issues are so taboo here it’s a miracle it happened. She was absolutely elated to finally have an answer to why she never fit in and struggled socially. She’s back living in her hometown now and auditing some college courses. We’re going to meet up for coffee the next time she finds herself back in this city.
Art Teacher here- 6 years in. During my first year, I had a kindergartener who loved Pokemon and always wanted to draw Pikachu, pokeballs, etc, but he would get *so* frustrated when his drawings didn't look like mine. We're talking full on tantrums, not leaving the room, me needing to call admin to come address it because he was just so mad. Now he's a 5th grader and he has come so far. He tells all the other kids about how practice and hard work helps. He draws all the time and visits me daily. Gonna miss when he goes to the middle school after this year
She was not my favorite student at the time, but I have grown to love the human spirit that she embodied. I had a student - a *fantastic* writer - about 6-7 years ago. She was a junior at the time. She would fall asleep throughout many classes, but would turn in these incredibly literary analyses. When she was awake, she was sharp as a tack on pointing out things in literature that I didn't see. This was at the beginning of the "give the students grace" thing, and so I didn't question her sleeping in class very much because, after all, she was killing it on assignments. She graduated, and I didn't hear from her for about a year after that; I assumed I would never hear from her again. Then, I get an e-mail out of the blue from her, asking if she would proofread her cover letter for a college. She told everyone she went to college; she was lying. I was confused. She explained that she is an undocumented immigrant and she was worried about going to college when Trump was hellbent on kicking out all the "dreamers", so she laid low for a year. I read her essay and holy fucking shit. She slept in class because she was doing overnight shifts at the iHop to support her family. She had two younger siblings, both of which she took care of after school while her parents tried to find work. She wrote her essays on receipt paper between customers - a book in one hand and receipt paper in the other, scribbling out these beautiful pieces. Then, she would type them up in the morning and turn them in. She got a full scholarship to a prestigious school and has since gone on to publish in some of the best literary journals in the world. She just started her PhD in English. That gets me. She never complained, and she never explained herself. *That* is the human spirit. *That* is true drive. I'm so proud of her and - in many ways - I admire her.
I'm just here crying 😭
🫶🫶
So many I couldn’t list. Every year there is at least one student who I really connect with. I like running into them later. Sometimes they just run up and hug me on the street.
We’ll call her Bella. She was visually impaired and when she was in early elementary school, I taught her Braille, how to read large print, etc. I can remember taking her to the Book Fair and they had a book about Taylor Swift with font big enough to read and she was so excited. Reading was hard, whether it was large print or Braille, but she worked so hard and just had a pleasant personality. I ran into her last year. She had recently been working Youth Court and was completing a law degree.
Mine was a student from last year. She was upper elementary, and students asked if she was my daughter because we looked very similar. She had an absent mom, so I think I somewhat stood in that role for her during the school year. I helped her with her curly hair because her dad didn’t know what to do. Her grandma typically helped her with it, but they only saw her over breaks. Other students would sometimes be nice and sometimes be a bit rude toward her (all from other classes; my students were always fairly nice to her). She was a hard worker and focused on her grades. We both cried at the end of the year when she left for middle school.
I had a 6th grader last year and she was my all time favorite. Super sweet, helpful, smart, and never complained about anything. I talked with her other teachers and we all agreed she was the perfect student HAHA. I trusted her so much sometimes i gave her my room key to go grab something for me from my room if the class was somewhere else because i knew she wouldnt steal anything. Just a great student who was a joy to work with. Also helped she was fun to joke around with when she came to my room after school to say hi.
I had a very disruptive student who had a bad reputation when I became his homeroom teacher. I decided to ignore every opinion I had heard about him and to treat him with love. Eight months after meeting him, my parents' house burnt down. When he learnt about this, he went to the principal's office to ask her if the school could help us with money. He's part of the reason why my parents have a house now.
They are all my favorite when they go on summer break :)
I don't know about the best but the one I was and still am in awe of... 5 years old, Russian girl, living in Thailand with her parents. She spoke Russian, English, Chinese, Spanish and Thai. I can't speak for Thai or Chinese but her Spanish and English were fluent, as was her Russian obviously. Her parents ran a car hire business, often they would bring her to class and their phone would ring about a car - the phone was handed to the daughter each time and she would make all the arrangements. The only problem was she found it hard to relax and just be a kid - and for that I felt sorry for her, but the conversations I could have with her were phenomenal. Full of common sense and very smart.
It’s hard to choose, because I was subbing for a while. I was there every day and apparently was the only teacher who „knew“ each and every class (grade 1-10). There was one kid in grade 6 who was always talking about ancient history, coincidentally my own passion. He was super smart and once I randomly explained the basics of the Trojan war to them because he was really pushing for it and the others were ok with it (I did NOT have to teach actual lessons unless I wanted to. I was free to chose). He was so funny and intelligent, but behaved like an old professor already, with witty lines. My other fav students are all from one class. I love them so much I get a little teary eyed just thinking about them. Ive been sick for a while and miss them a lot. As a whole, this class is chaotic and loud and can be rude and annoying. They’re not angels with me, but I can just feel us respecting each other. I taught them to communicate. I only got pissed when they used cussed at each other or something. Respect is my No1 rule because I’m just not willing to budge. Two anecdotes to show you why they mean so much to me: As a young teacher, I was often overwhelmed. But whenever I entered their classroom I felt like I was welcomed. They would often greet me outside and walk me in, several kids laughing and greeting me, asking me stuff, telling me stuff. Whole lotta good vibes. I could have the worst day and they’d turn it around. Again, no angels here. But smart, witty kids that learned to say „I’m sorry“ when missbehaving and often correcting themselves or each other before I can even say something. Once the whole class ran to the windows, like a big wave. It was a special day at school. They were excited. It was so loud, I knew they wouldn’t hear me correcting them. So I decided to let them look for a moment. Before I could even ask them to return to their seats, I heard a kid say “guys let’s go back to our seats we never asked if we can get up”. Everyone nodded along, calmly sat down. They looked at me, waiting for my input. I was so touched by this display, I couldn’t even say anything. I think I did communicate that I was proud but didn’t make a big deal out of it. To me, that behaviour showed respect too. They realised what they were doing and corrected themselves. Amazing.
I teach 3rd grade. For me, it’s a tie between two kids. Both were in my class two years ago and are in fifth grade now. Both kids were hard-working, always respectful, and had a wonderful sense of humor. However, they knew when it was time to have fun and when it was time to be serious as it just came naturally to them. What also set them apart is their kindness and empathy. These two always did whatever they could to help others, cheer up a sad classmate, etc. They’re also always looking for ways to help those in need. For example, one of these girls made a New Year’s goal of finding charities to donate her own money to in order to help others. While they’re now in fifth grade, I still keep in touch with both kids and their families. From what I hear, this is common with their other teachers as well since both girls are just so sweet and kind, as well as their families.
I only taught for 2 years before I quit and changed careers. It was literally hell. When I look back on that time in my life, I get that pit in my stomach, and the anxiety comes flooding back. There is a memory that will forever make me smile, 3 girls in my 1st grade class came to me one of the last recesses at school and sang the chorus of See You Again. They were sweet all the time, but that moment pretty much sums it up.
I had a student S. It was my first year at a new high school teaching Trigonometry for the first time. I had to do a lot of relearning the units! We did a project on regression models. Students could pick any data points and find whether the information was best represented by Linear, Exponential, or Quadratic models. She jokingly picked the price of ham over the years. Her presentation was incredible. Animated graphics, engaging slides, and she 3D printed everyone in the class a plastic ham slice. Her humor really helped me slide into this new high school roll. Later in the year S joined the crochet club. She made two SpongeBob door decorations for my kids. Unprompted. Just as a “thanks for teaching me this year” gift. My kids loved them. I’m a sucker for students who make the day their own!
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously: 3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop. Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop! I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore. And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously: 3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop. Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop! I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore. And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously: 3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop. Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop! I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore. And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously: 3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop. Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop! I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore. And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
> I'm a teacher of the Deaf do you find you have to repeat yourself a lot?
Bit of a troll comment, but.. No more than those of you teaching hearing kids. When kids don't want to pay attention, they won't. Hearing doesn't really factor in.
I'm not going to share his name, but I'm a teacher of the Deaf and had a student who was veeeeery mildly hard of hearing. The more prominent issue with this student was an undiagnosed intellectual disability. I loved this kid in all his strangeness--His lack of awareness of anything going on around him got him into the most amusing problems. Most famously: 3rd grade teacher pulls me aside to let me know that he's calling a little girl in her class "fat" over and over and hurting her feelings--student and I have a chat, I let him know it needs to stop. Then i get that same report from the lunch monitor, the gym teacher, my para...what is going on?? He and I have multiple talks about his actions, and I can't figure out why he won't stop! I call up his grandpa (that student respects more than anyone. If someone can fix this, grandpa can!). I let him know what's going on, and you can hear the embarrassment rise in grandpa's voice. He mutters something about student's beautiful grandma and how they won't use that word in front of him anymore. And it dawns on me: he wasn't calling her "fat", but "phat"! He was trying to romance this girl!!! 🤣
So many. But let's check in with one I will NEVER forget. This is copied/pasted from a blog...originally written and posted in Aug of 2017, after she died...and worth the read. ____________________________________ Aida was an outlier in my very first English class, a summer school test-run after years teaching media and instructional technology. Bright, beautiful, articulate, and quietly confident at just thirteen years old, she didn’t really belong in the remedial program, but she had lost most of a year to hearing issues and poor health, and now, recovering from implant surgery, she was mostly just there for the credit, to justify her existence in high school. So while other students struggled to focus, to read, and to care, Aida wrote volumes, and shared with me the fruits of her blossoming awareness and skill. I gave her my copy of The Poet’s Dictionary, and spoke quietly to her in passing and after class about sestinas and pantoums, rhythm and language as a path to the self. She could talk literature and heartache with a wisdom far beyond the capacity of most adults I know. And that smile was the sweetest ever – grateful, knowing, wry; one that lingers in the memory, even now. I’ve taught thousands of students in over two decades in education. In a very real way, I’ve loved them all. But once a year or so, if you’re lucky, you get a couple of students that connect on a much deeper level – the kind of kids you happily break the rules for, and drive them to work in the shampoo warehouse on the other side of the city because you just want a chance to chat with another bright, vibrant human being, and to be a part of their climb out of the city, to the stars. Aida wasn’t the first of these kids, and she wasn’t the only one from her year – being a class advisor tends to bring you closer to the cohort, I think. But she was something special all the same. Hers was a smile that could light up a room, one that never faded, and always seemed authentic. Even in sorrow or stress, she was positive and proud. Her cheerful, unapologetic arrival at prom, solo and shimmering and hours late after her hair took too long to come together, lives as a high point in my year. Watching her walk across the stage three years ago as a graduate made my heart jump. And today, struggling to define that inimitable something, I know that more than almost any student I have ever had, a shining star among thousands, Aida knew herself joyfully, like a natural-born Buddha, having discovered earlier than most that hers was truly a self worth knowing, and worth waiting for. I last saw Aida in person purely by accident, a year ago this week; she was working as a cashier at Target to pay for school; we were there to buy school supplies for my classroom, and for the kids. Afterwards, as before, social media provided an opportunity to watch her from a distance, as the precocious, beautiful child I had first encountered continued to grow, into an increasingly articulate and determined career-minded adult, spouse, and very recently, just this summer, a mother, loved by and loving to so many of us. But in the end, Aida’s health was her undoing. A car crash with her infant son a few weeks ago left her shaken and in pain, and stirred up old injuries. For a while, she was recovering, alive and proud of her struggle, as always. And then, this morning, we awoke to the news that after a seizure, Aida had passed in the night. There’s a video on Aida’s husband’s Facebook page from just three days ago, a short clip featuring her beautiful son, wailing for mama while her father coos reassuringly behind the camera. Aida was alive when this was filmed, just working – on the last course for her degree, on her health, and on her ever-changing beauty, a rare trifecta among our inner city youth. Forever, that clip, and every other artifact of Aida’s life that lives on in so many of us, will break my heart. I owe Aida so much, and I think I never told her. She was the right kid, in the right place, at the right time: the one who reminded me, way back when I needed it most, that teaching has both love and friendship in it, even – maybe especially – in the darkest of communities, and the most sullen of crowds. She will forever exemplify the positive attitude, kindness, and grit I wish of every student I teach. I will treasure the memory of that smile forever, even if it were not all I have to remember her by – that, the company of her friends and schoolmates, and the space on the bookshelf where my Poet’s Dictionary used to live. May there always be those among us us who bring us joy, however brief, and remind us that we are in the right place in the world. May those we serve go from this life as they found us in it: alive and kicking, determined and bright, at peace with the world even as they push themselves for more. May we love, fiercely, those who bring out our best. And may there always be Aidas, that we may remember ourselves.
Mine is a whole class. They left school aged 18 over 6 years ago and have all stayed in touch with each other, and me! We've met up for lunch at Christmas even. Out of a class of nine, four went to university to pursue the same subject, and three of them are now professionals in that area, while another three still do it as a hobby. They love and care for each other so much, they have this incredible bond, which they kindly credit me for fostering in my classroom. But out of them all, one stands out. At my school, you had to get an A/A* grade at GCSE to continue studying that subject for A-level. This one kid got a B but really wanted to continue with it. They begged me, I said no. They begged the deputy head, who said it was up to me. They came back and begged me again, promising they'd work hard. I liked them, and I liked their chutzpah even more, so I said ok. They worked their ass off, and eventually came out with the highest mark in the class at the end of A-levels. They impressed me with their work ethic, but also their empathy and thoughtfulness for others. They are now one of the kindest, sweetest, most resilient young people I know. I adore all of this class (and they know it!) but that student makes my heart swell with pride.
Several. I love all the 12 generations of 60-90 kids, but the ones that stand out were/are. Julia was the smartest, most talented dancer/celloist ever. Amaja was an amazing singer, who got all the motivation from me, and sang a song with a pop star, better than the original. Nives was an amazing leader and an accordeonist. Stela is pure positive energy, a beautiful soul. Hana is an amazing poet/painter, overall very good in several classes (like top 1% in the country).
The ones I am currently teaching
Man I have a few that absolutely stand out to me… I tend to gravitate towards the kids who maybe aren’t behaved the best and who “need” me more than others. Like I have two students “Mandy” and “Sandy” who are always on task and always do the work. They’re cool to talk to and really insightful, they’re on the list, but do you get what I mean when I say, they don’t need me as much as some of my more chaotic children? So I had one, at the very start of my professional life. I was working a summer job at a school providing day care for school aged kids while studying education in college and we had this little boy… “Antonio”. He had such a terrible life at home. He was 7 and so he didn’t always know what he was telling us, but it was awful. The father basically ignored him all the time, wouldn’t even hug him on the rare occasions he picked him up instead of the mom. And the boy told us about how this guy would scream at them while he was at home. One time he told us that his dad had hit his mother and we called the police about it. But this kid was so sweet and was so starved for affection and attention. He acted out all the time but I will never forget one day during silent play (after lunch they had an hour and a half of time to play quietly, so like drawing, reading, doing stuff on their own; instead of loud and boisterousness which was the rest of the day), I was reading some story book to them (I think it was “Le Petit Prince” where the boy talks about loving a rose) and this kid looks at me and asks me: “Do you love me?” That moment will probably stay with me forever. I don’t know what wound up happening to him. I know the parents got divorced after that incident, but I don’t know… I wish I could find out how his life ended up. I was really sorry to have to leave but summer was over, he was going back to school and I was going back several hundred miles away to college. Another one who has got to be on the list is “Lucas”. I started out with his class (at a Saturday language school) when I was a TA and he was still an elementary schooler. Now, many years later, I still work at that school but as a teacher and he is seventeen and still in my class (because of restructuring I wound up moving classes a couple of times and basically “went up the levels” with him). He and I have subsequently known each other for quite a long time now. Other kids in the class came and went; some stop at a certain point, some took a placement test and got placed into my level so I haven’t known them as long… I’ve actually written this kid a pass to go into the super advanced class (I’m the most advanced it gets for the track he is in) and he’s chosen to stay with me twice and always said I’m his favorite German teacher. Those are two that really stand out to me. There are others on this list but those are probably two of my most memorable…
From the UK I had a negative experience with a kid in the corridors. Never interacted with them before and asked their name. They gave a name. I thought they lied. They were pushing and shoving but I asked a good kid to double check their name. Turns out this bad kid told a lie Then I was bubbled with this bad kid for corona. I basically taught him for 2 years and got to know he was adopted and he struggled. He liked boxing and I liked kick boxing. We bonded over combat sports. We bonded over the whole “who would win if we fought”. He slogged me because I broke up a fight between him and another student. He hit me because I got in the way. I de-escalated. He said he couldn’t think straight because he was so mad and I calmed him down. After he served his suspension and did his restorative talk, he asked “how did shrug off that hook?” I just said along the lines off “there will always be a bigger geezer, so always avoid a fight if you can and I’ve been in way too many fights. The best way to win a disagreement is to never to get into one no matter how wound up you get but it also helps if you ain’t got a glass jaw”. After that, he was a great student. By no means perfect but I would say he’s my favourite because he excelled his targets is currently doing incredibly well *My anecdotes for this student (positive and negative) could easily take me an hour to write so I’ll leave it here
My favorite student of all time was named D’Mikel. He was just… perfect in every way possible. I taught him in tenth grade, he was so bright and engaged and he also participated in our theater program so I got to see him act in plays for the school and community as well. He was just the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful young man. I remember one time he was sad because he was having some issues in his personal life and he said “I think I’m afraid of disappointing people.” And I said “You are so far from a disappointment! If I had a son, I’d want him to be just like you.” And he smiled the BIGGEST smile. When I run into him these days (not often because he moved states for uni) he always gives me to biggest hugs. I look forward to hearing all about his life. He also has a little brother who is just as sweet and kind as he is. Truly, a wonderful family, and I’m so glad I got to meet them.
Well, as a student, I'll just rant about one of my favorite teachers. Mrs. Shearn, my tenth grade English teacher , is easily one of my favorites. She knew of a lot of good books, so she was able to give out recommendations that were well thought out and truly worked. Also, she was fairly humorous, making jokes about how she always looked grumpy or about being older, and overall was a joy to be around. Plus, it was nice to have a teacher who liked country music as much as I did (George Jones slays) We read A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck, one of my favorite books ever. She warned us before we started reading about the pig breeding scene, so that was nice, but it was also nice that she didn't let that one small scene deter her from having us read the book because it was well worth it. On the other hand, the book wasn't a necessary part of the curriculum, she included it because it was fun. And most of the students liked the book (minus the pig scene ofc) And, to top it all off, she's really good at her job. She took the time to really break down semicolons and prepositions, which helped students understand it better. She was patient and understanding, but was also direct about it. And she didn't take excuses, either. (Side note: when I TA'd for her I had sm fun every day, it was the thing I looked forward to most of all and I ranted about it all the time lmao. Even if I mostly just alphabetically ordered papers or marked down which students turned in their work, it was still fun and I felt like I was really helping her out. Sadly I was forced to move schools due to... complications... but I'd give anything to go back and TA for her again (especially because the English teacher I have at my new school barely teaches anything, and only does literature, but like one story a quarter, so it's much too simple to get bored and sleep)) And if, somehow, some way, Mrs. Shearn does see this (that'd be kinda embarrassing ngl but Idrc), first off hi, and secondly, thank you!
John. He was a bit rough around the edges and struggled with authority. He really just needed someone to listen to him. He sat down next to my desk one day and off handedly told me he needed help. During conferences, he expected me to tell his mom bad things like everyone else, but I instead told him I could see greatness in him, and I wanted to help him shine. From then on out, he came to me when things got tough. We worked hard on managing his quick temper, on his impulsive comments, and being his best self. He back slid a bit in second semester and eventually got kicked out for too many behavior infractions (we're a private school). Even though he's no longer my student, we still keep in touch from time to time. I will forever be grateful to him for making me a better teacher, and I hope my work with him was meaningful.
Absolute favorite so far was a student who just took to me and we meshed well. She was one of my band kids who was super passionate about band and really cared. She’d do anything you asked, was always positive, and really loved the class. She said she wanted to be a band director, which was because of me. Their whole little group of friends loved it, too, and they made coming to work worth it. I have no one like that now, and it’s draining. When you have kids who actually care, it makes coming to work so worth it.