Mrs. Kelley

School's out for Summer

While the kid's may be happy, and the parents may be hesitant, others were not completely ready for the school year to come to a close. I wanna talk about my wife, or as her kids call her, Mrs. Kelley. This was her first year to teach full-time and she had 5th Grade science and social studies at Harlem Elementary. Going in, she was very excited, but also a little nervous about the adventure she was about to embark upon. Some of the kids were difficult, some didn't care either way. But, each day my wife would arrive at the school between 530 and 630 am. Most of the time she was the first teacher on campus, sometimes she'd be the last member of the faculty to leave. She did not do this because she was behind, but she wanted her kids to be engaged and interested in the subject matter that she was presenting. She worked about some Saturday's this year, and was usually lesson planning for her kids at night here at home. It paid off, as the year end measurements of achievement became available. Most of Her kids succeeded at the course work, and at the year end TAKS test.
After seeing her and her 5th grade team, I have a new understanding of the paperwork and red tape that a teacher must endure to accomplish much of anything. The administrators on her campus were for the most part amazing in the support they can lend. As the week drew to a close, she told me how much she would miss her kids, and I understood. I understood that Friday was the last day of school, and it would hit then. During the 5th grade ceremony, she broke into tears a couple of times. Her kids hugged her and told her how much they would miss her. She returned their feelings. She received flowers from at least one, bear hugs from several, and has an emotional bond with quite a few. You'll notice that they are referred to as her kids, they weren't students to her, they are her kids, she was responsible for them for 9 months. She took pride in that responsibility, and she will always take pride in them.
Last night, we went to dinner. It finally hit. She would see a handful of her students again. They would never be in the same place as a group again, and that made her very sad. After talking for a while she went through a list of 15-20 names of children that she had taught this year that had come so very far. I am sure, that over the next few years, we'll be attending football games and band concerts, so she can see some of her kids again. She is proud of the accomplishments of her first batch of pupils. More than that, I am proud of her. She has done an amazing job this year. She'll do an amazing job next year as well, and the next, and so on. I am very proud of you sweetheart, and more than that, you should be proud of yourself.