Meet the Teacher – Observation

My observations as an outsider, looking into Meet the Teacher. My wife is a school teacher. She teaches 4th grade at Haley Elementary in the Chandler School District. Over the years, I have volunteered my times for this special event. Why do I call it special – well, it is that time when the summer is coming to an end and parents, teachers and students are getting ready for the new school year to begin. Special time for parents because the kids are back at school. Students don’t always find it special at first, but they later enjoy getting back with the friends (or new friends). Teachers find it special for a variety of reasons, most notably they are going back to their passion of educating our future.

My observations over the years have been:

• Parents, students and teachers are excited about what a new year can and will bring. A new crop of people getting together to work toward a common goal – educating young minds, helping them grow and learn.
• Parents and teachers are trying to size up the upcoming year. Will this teacher be just the ticket for little Steve? Are Mr and Mrs XXXX going to be active in the education of little Steve? Little Steve is wondering if he is going to have a good year. Lots of questions that will be answered over the course of the school year.
• Teachers are wondering if this class is “the” class. “The” has two meanings. First and hopefully what happens most – is this the year all students take off and fly with the eagles. Or () going to be the nightmare from their dreams over the weeks leading up to school.
• Many of the participants last night were all a buzz. Past students and parents – stopped by to say Hi, talk about last year’s experience and say thank-you. The new class were sitting down doing some welcome activities – talking and sharing their summer experiences. The PTO was busy doing recruiting and fund-raising. The administrative staff was helping out everywhere they could – they must have logged 5 miles. Excitement was in the air.

A new school year, brings new and hopefully high expectations – which will be met at the end of this school year. Will everything be perfect? Nope. Patience and remembering why everyone is there – will get them through the year. For me, I like this time of year, because my wife is really getting back to what she is passionate about (besides her family) – that is helping students to be the best that they can be. The dedication and drive that I get to see everyday – reminds me that I have to keep that same drive in what I do. Do I get the summer off to rest up for the next round of drive? No, but neither does she. She is always on – getting ready, trying to figure out new ways, re-evaluating last year and just plain thinking about the upcoming year.

When you have passion – you can move mountains.

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