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This video made me feel important. Especially as the year ends, it feels overwhelming to think of everything that has happened over the past nine months.

I am inspored to continue to lead with positivity, passion, and ideation as I finish out the school year!!!!!

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This video makes me think about how we truly have an impact on every single life we come across. We help mold kids into who they will be as adults. Many people in the video talked about connections they made with a teacher positive and negative ones. It reminded me to come in each day with a positive attitude trying to build positive and meaningful relationships with my students.

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I connected with the person who mentioned, "Besides our parents, they help shape us into who we become." Another person mentioned that teachers won't leave you behind. As I watch this video and the school year is coming to an end, I get emotional thinking about all of the care, encouragement, and work that I've put into these beautiful young people and I hope that their teachers next year see them for how amazing they are.

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This video makes me think of the opportunity we have to be a positive role model in so many lives. It also makes me think of the positive or negative affect we can have on students.

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It is all about connections! If you connect with your students, they remember that connection. They feel how much you care about them and how important they are. It is not about the grades. It is not about the test scores. It is about how you connected with them and how you helped them to believe in themselves. I have changed so much already about how I celebrate my students. I celebrate all sorts of things. I make blanketed statements after a day of checking on letters and counting. I tell them how they ALL made improvements. I tell them that I am proud of them ALL. I also talk to them individually about their progress in all areas. I just think we need to take the time to really connect with our students, so they know they have someone who hears/sees them.

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One person said their favorite teacher would chew them out if they weren't doing what they were supposed to, but she always gave them a chance to make it right. This careful balance of a teacher is one I think of often. How do I hold my students to high standards--that they are aware of--while also conveying that their ability to get something done well, no matter the number of tries, it what I hope for?

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As I watched this video, I just thought about all of the students I've had over the years that may not have had anyone else in their corner, rooting for them.  I can't imagine what life would be like for those kiddos if they didn't have a safe classroom and the support of a caring teacher.  I always want to provide that for my students--all of my students.  Hugs, emails, and cards from my former students make me think I must be doing something right, even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it. I just feel blessed that I am part of a profession that allows me to touch so many lives. It is not an easy job, but I can't imagine doing anything else.

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What came to my mind as I watched the video and thought about myself as a teacher was not only the work that I have done for my students but the work that teachers did for me. When I started Kindergarten my teacher said that I would never learn to read because I started off behind the other students. After I struggled she gave up and thought my fate was sealed. It was not until I had a wonderful second grade teacher who say more in me that used her time to really help me get on track. I went on to honors ELA/ap classes and now am a teaching ELA to my students. We have to chance to change students and I want to be the teacher my students look back and think "wow they really believed in me and helped me be great".

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The kid that stuck out to me the most was the one who had failing grades, but ended up getting into colleges, and feeling successful about it. I have been feeling very defeated with some students who just haven't made progress all year—they will engage with class content, do activities, we seem to have a good relationship, but their scores or grade just aren't improving. A teacher I follow on Tik Tok recently talked about how as a middle school teacher sometimes you have to be reminded that you likely won't see the payout of your hard work until years down the line, if ever. I may have given students good study tools or taught them valuable critical thinking skills, or perhaps even simply given them someone who believes they are wildly capable. Yet, there is a very strong chance that right now I may not see change, but that doesn't mean that the work I am doing is less valuable.

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The first thing that I made a connection with was my crew of past students that come into my room every morning just for a hug :)

Everyone talked about the relationships with their teachers. It reminded me how important all of those small interactions that I have with my students can make such a huge difference. I have the ability to be there for all of my students!

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The comment that stood out to me was, "besides our parents, teachers are the first people that we meet that shape who we become." Wow! That makes me sit back and think about the amount of change we can have in our students lives. Many adults in the clip discussed how they maybe were not the easiest of students (behaviors, grades, etc...) and yet they had a teacher(s) in their lives that still believed in them. The teachers had high expectations for the students and yet were able to connect with the student and adapt for them in a way that led them to be successful in their class.

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No one of these people talked about the content their favorite teacher taught. They talked about how that one teacher made them feel and how that teacher had high expectations for them which made them believe in themselves. I know many of my students will not remember me but I hope they will remember when they got to go to school with their caregivers and they had a positive experience. It's not only about the children, but it's about their caregivers and how they feel accepted and sometimes make them feel less crazy when they are deep into parenting young children and babies.

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I have a few teachers that still live in Esko and attend Esko events that I am at. Every time I see these teachers that I enjoyed, it brings me back to why I chose teaching. There are times that I feel frustrated like "why am I doing this" It never fails how God puts a former student, player or current student in a place to remind me of why I teach and how I can affect young people lives for good.

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I wonder as a specialist are we making connections with students? I have enjoyed going into their homerooms this year when they start their morning meetings. I am hoping that I can try doing that more next year too. I have seen some of my previous students at the high school football game. It is fun to hear them say, " hey that was my science teacher in elementary school." I am hoping that they have good things to say about me and what I taught them. I was honored when a previous student asked me to be his confirmation sponsor this last year. Like the video said along with their parents we are some of the most important people in their lives.

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One of the people said, "She would get after me but she would never leave me behind". That really stuck out to me.  My role is so important because I'm the one who can always include, never exclude. in a world where people feel alone and left out, I have the power to make my young students feel like the mean something and they have inherent worth because their music teacher made the effort day in and day out to help them see their value and always invited them to be a part of the group.

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Wow! Again, these 3 minute clips are so powerful! They cut right through the heart. When the one person said: "After our parents, they are probably the next most important people of influence in our lives." That is pretty awesome! Or "a good teacher will never leave you behind." These are always my goals. To lift up the strugglers, be there for the ones who don't have parents at home, encourage the strong to become even stronger, and always encourage students to reach to their highest potential. This will look different for everyone, but it will be their highest and their BEST! As teachers, we have a very powerful job and we are blessed to be able to touch so many lives on an every day basis.

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While watching this video I was reminded of all the smiles, Hi(s)/how are you, and hugs that I get from past students. It also reminded me of the few students that come back and visit me every so often, now in their 20s. This made me think that even though I don't feel like I accomplish all that I want to or I get down on myself, I am doing something right.

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This video reminded me that teachers/educators are so much more than just teachers, we wear a lot of hats like this picture. I think this video reminded me that I think the number one important thing that teachers do is help build belief and we really do play a big role in how students see themselves as individuals. All of these people in the video, didn't necessarily name a lesson that they remembered they talked about how teachers made them who they were.