I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

I was trying to keep my squirrels in line this afternoon. My remedial class is a bit squirrely on the best of days (they haven't passed the exit exam yet for a reason), but here at the end of the semester, they are extra squirrely. I try, for at least the sake of appearances, to make them do their sentence correction warm-up. (Don't get me wrong -- we've worked, 48% passed the exam in October, and I hope another 5%-10% passed in November.) So, as I am coercing them into fixing four whole sentences, one of my favorite squirrels (she is as squirrely as they come, but is lively and chipper and good-hearted, just oh-so-squirrely) suddenly insists she has something for me in the migrant room.

A note: most (if not all) of the students in this class are either Sped or ELs (I think one of them might escape either of those labels -- MIGHT). Most of those ELs are also migrant students. They have not passed yet because the deck is stacked against them. They speak a language other than English, their schooling has often been interrupted, and their parents are often not literate in any language. Because they are in the migrant program, however, they get additional supports and they also get a smaller learning community. They know each other and they have good relationships with the migrant staff.

Although HeadSquirrel was begging me to go to the migrant room, I insisted that she finish her warm-up first. (I often do this. I insist they finish an assignment or wait until I am ready before I let them leave the room. Their first instinct is that I won't let them go or I don't believe them, when really, I just want to minimize the distruptions to their education.) Afterwards, I let her go. She came back -- with an award for me. They all voted to give me a certificate of appreciation for "Teaching Our Children". Then, the chorus of voices asked me where I was because they made a speech (in English and Spanish) and gave me this award at their La Posada celebration the night before.

Well, now I just felt like crap. They gave me an award and I wasn't there? But I swear, none of them told me about it! I got no notice from the migrant office that a celebration was even going on and none of them said a peep about it in class on Wednesday. (Last year I learned -- secondhand, sadly -- how important the migrant award ceremonies are, and I vowed I would do my best to attend them.) They said that another student of mine (in one of my regular English classes) told me about it, but she didn't. It's true that she was in my room yesterday taking her final because she left early to Mexico, but she never said a word about the party.

So, I'm sad that I missed a moment to be with my students and their families to celebrate their educations. I'm embarassed that they gave me an award and I wasn't there. And I'm disappointed that I missed out on all the food! They had posole and tamales and enchiladas... (have I mentioned how much I LOVE tamales?).

But mostly, I am so honored that they gave me this award. I've never gotten an award from my students before. I'm not a touchy-feely person, so the students don't instantly bond with me as they do with some teachers. That "cold-heartedness" doesn't make for a lot of warm-fuzzies come awards' banquet time. So even though it wasn't an ideal hand-off, it is still very, very sweet. I have the certificate hanging on my wall already.

I want to thank the Academy, my family, and especially all of you for reading and responding and being a part of my own learning process. I dissed you on a Thanksgiving post, so I'd like to express my gratitude right now. Thank you. Thank you very much.