Today, the Henderson band, as well as their choir, came to perform for our 5th grade classes. As always, I am amazed by how much our ex-students change. At times, I am even embarrassed, when I am approached by someone who I spent 9 months of my life with, several hours each weekday, and I no longer seem to know who they are. There are some faces, however, that one never forgets, and others that take a while longer to recognize. In any case, I always enjoy seeing my ex-students, either on our yearly visit to Henderson, or in this case, their performance at our school. The most gratifying part of the experience, however, is not just in appreciating how much they have grown physically, but how they have managed to succeed the tough transition into middle school. To me, there is no greater pleasure than asking them how they are doing in their classes, and having them respond, "Straight A's, Mr. D!". I also get the occasional, "Oh, middle school is a breeze." Can it really be? Is middle school not as difficult as I remember? Well... I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, they find it easier because we have prepared them properly for the experience. To me, as a teacher, that is the true measure of success with a student. Of course, getting them prepared for the state test is important, and seeing them pass is very satisfying. But, in the eight years I have been teaching, my proudest moments have come when I am approached at a GT meeting by one of the teachers at Henderson, and I am told, "Mr. Delgado, I can always tell which students come from your class." Now, I am going to assume here they are recognizable for desirable behaviors, and that the middle school teachers are giving me a compliment and not reprimanding me! But, seriously, ultimately as teachers, that is what we strive for; we hope that we are preparing the students not for a test, but for the skills that they will be needing at the next level of their academic career. To me, there is no greater measure of this than having a student that has moved one
AuthorPedro Delgado Archives
February 2015
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