Graduation

Graduation is one of the biggest milestones in one's life. Since becoming a teacher, graduation has become such a fulfilling event each year. I get to see students whom I taught years ago, students who struggled throughout, but stuck in there, and students whom I tutored for years after they left my 8th grade classroom graduate from high school. I cannot tell you how proud I am each year. My absolute favorite part of graduation night is walking through the throng of graduates, teachers, families, and friends and seeing the pride on each person's face. Everyone in attendance played a role in the life of these graduates that helped them reach this point in their lives. 

I often teach students who say they'll drop out as soon as they're old enough because they hate school. Of course, I try to encourage them to stay in school, but once they enter high school, I have no idea what will happen. I recall getting a phone call from the Dean of Men at the high school when these graduates were freshman. One of the students would not behave and was spending much of his time in ISS. The AP called me and asked if I could come to the high school during my prep to meet with this student. I was confused as to why he wanted me to come, then he said, "He just doesn't care about anything. He hates all of his teachers. He's disrespectful, insubordinate, and quite a discipline issue. I asked him had he ever respected a teacher. He said he only respected the one teacher who cared about him, Mrs. Koster. I'm hoping you can get through to him."

I went to the high school the next morning during my prep. I met with the AP for a few minutes before he left to get the student. He hadn't told the student, we'll call him Joe, I was there. When the doors opened, Joe walked in with his head hanging down and the "tough-guy" swag. He looked up and made eye contact with me. He went from wannabe thug to a little boy in a flash. He ran up to me and hugged me. "Mama K, what are you doing here?!"  When I explained that the Dean had called me because he was concerned about Joe, he hung his head in shame. We talked for about an hour about the way he should be acting in school, and the respect he needed to show to his teachers because they only wanted to help him. 

His mom worked from 3pm-11pm. His dad wasn't in the picture.  He was literally on his own other than while school and sleeping. We called his mother and set up a plan. We decided I would tutor him to help him catch up on his lessons. It was early in the year, and we were optimistic. I kept him after school for tutoring and fed him dinner. Then, he went home to shower and go to bed.  His work was caught up, his grades and behavior were improving. This lasted for about a month before he got tired of it and just wanted to be free. Once his mom allowed him to skip a day or two, the structure was gone and he no longer came for tutoring. I haven't seen or heard from him since.

On the evening of May 17th, I attended graduation. I was so pleased to see so many former students receiving their diplomas. I was saddened and disappointed to see that a few did not. One or two had dropped out, but others had graduated in December and decided not to walk for one reason or another. One of them had already completed boot camp and was serving as a United States Marine. A former student was now a brother in arms! I looked for Joe. he wasn't there. I asked around and was simply told things like, "I don't know, I think he might of dropped out."

The moral of the story is this. Teachers go above and beyond, and we still can't reach them all. Those are the students that stick with us and make us want to try harder to help others. For those who made it, congratulations. I'm so very proud of you. For those who didn't, it's not too late. 

Congratulations Class of 2019! You did it!