For the last two and a bit weeks, I've been in charge of my very first class. 23 grade 9 students entirely reliant on my to learn DNA and genetics.
Thankfully, if their recent assignments are any indication, they're getting it. And it's nice to get that sort of mathematical confirmation that maybe I do have a knack for this.
My evaluations have been good. Students have been engaged. My cooperating teacher called me "awesome" in an email to the principal. It's been a good run so far.
But the biggest, more important marker of success in all this hasn't been all the stuff I just mentioned (though admittedly, hearing positive feedback and complements from teachers and educational assistants has been a huge deal). No, the best compliment came yesterday, when my students were working on a summative activity, and one girl asked me if I "could be her teacher all year" since I'm "awesome".
It floored me. And then I was (and still am) flattered.
The girl that the comment came from is a tough one to crack. But her, along with several others, are clearly on my side, they're on board with me, and as a teacher, you really can't ask for more.
Now maybe I have the benefit of being their first period for the day, so I get a chance to set the tone for how the rest of their classes progress. Or maybe it's because the class they have right after mine is English with a teacher they aren't a massive fan of. Whatever the reason, I'll take the compliment, and clearly it's a marker that I'm doing something right.
I have yet to regret this choice. Though I'm sure the tougher days will undoubtedly come, it's times like these and comments like those I'll be sure to remember.
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