I love my job and I find it necessary to show how magnificent and great it can be. With the challenges of recent years, each of us has had to adapt. We needed to change things together. Here is what I wanted to write to those who accompanied me on this great adventure…
You don’t know it, but I had one of the worst years of my life… and one of the best at the same time. I finish my school year, I look at what I leave behind me, and this is the observation that I make. On a personal level, the past few months have been challenging for me, overwhelming, and at times deeply heartbreaking. More than one morning, I walked into my classroom wondering how I was going to get through my day, I was so on edge. However…
You were there. My pupils, you do not know it, but you have been my heart balm all year long. The adorable “Post-its” left on my desk, the nice comments launched in the morning hubbub… “You are the best teacher in the world! Even if you never quite believe it, this sentence was a little buoy for me to keep my head above water. Not a day have I left school without feeling better than in the morning. Tired, yes. But stronger, somehow.
You don’t know it, but I admired you. The resilience you showed during the pandemic was fascinating. In two years (yes, I had this chance to keep my gang during two years ! the looping, what a wonderful idea!), you have made our group one big united family. You helped me to accept the mask, this barrier to smiles, by radiating differently. And then, you were understanding in the face of this new pedagogy imposed by COVID: fewer contacts, distance learning, often stricter instructions and frequent adaptations. You have been amazing!
Often, I regretted not being at my best. I had this unpleasant feeling that I couldn’t tell you enough how good you were, that I was proud of you. I dare to hope despite everything that you leave my class with happy memories and a solid confidence in your qualities as students and little humans. I’ll see you bigger next year. For the most part, you will have exceeded me in size… and I will be happy to tell myself that we have grown together.
As for you, dear parents… You didn’t know it, but more than ever I felt that we were a team. How reassuring to know you caring and involved! It changes everything, for a teacher, to know that he is supported. I will not forget your smiles when you leave class, your thanks out of the corner of your eye and your messages of encouragement or approval after one of my (too) many emails. I will never forget those little daily gestures that have been so precious, or the time taken by a mother, in the middle of October, simply to write to me that her son likes going to school partly thanks to to me…
I end this school year with a heavy heart, filled with an overflow of love and gratitude for all those who did not know they were there for me. The month of June, for a teacher, is always a little mourning. Mine, this year, is particularly charged with emotion. Of course, there are the holidays! But before celebrating, I wanted to make sure that my students and their parents know, that they are extraordinary!