Shortly after graduating from college I decided to go into PR. It wasn’t my dream job, that was being a weather girl, but not being happy with the offers as a meteorologist, I decided PR was the next best thing.
I was hired at a small firm in Tampa and worked for nearly a year making phone calls, emails, and doing the best that I could to get our clients press. As time went on, I’d go into work everyday dreading it. My anxiety was at an all time high because of my boss and I was physically sick because I was so unhappy. I didn’t like what I was doing and wanted so desperately to find something that I would look forward to when I woke up every single day.
I started searching for something else. At the time, my two little brothers were in middle school. Something intrigued me about teaching and with my background in science and math, I figured why not give it a shot.
Immediately, I began searching for teaching jobs all across the city. I knew I wanted Middle School because that is what I was most familiar with at the time and I knew it had to be either math or science, as that was my background.
I went to two interviews before landing a job as a sixth grade science teacher and a school that wasn’t too far from where I went to middle and high school. Shortly after being hired, I went back to my boss at the PR firm and told her I was leaving. I’d never felt so relieved in my life.
Teaching started off very rocky. I thought I knew middle school kids, but when you are thrown in a room with 20-25 kids, that’s an entirely different story. While I was in charge of teaching them about science, what they didn’t realize that they were teaching me so much about life. I had a newfound appreication for teachers and for what they did on a daily basis, beyond the hours they were required to be at school. Despite all of the challenges, I absolutely loved my job.
I taught for three years before we headed to NYC. I looked for several teaching jobs there and was even offered a position, but after much consideration, I knew it was time for me to put teaching on the back burner for a little while so I could focus more of my attention on Harlan.
It wasn’t until this past year that I started to think more and more about my short time as a teacher. This year when Harlan started kindergarten, I was a little nervous. Not only because we were in a new city and knew no one, but because this was the first time, as a mom, I was giving someone else the responsibility of watching her and teaching her for a majority of the time.
Harlan has excelled this year and I have no doubt in my mind that the majority of the reason for that is because of her teacher. She’s not only taken on the role of teaching her how to read, write, etcetera. But she’s filling a void that Harlan has when I’m not there. She gives her a hug when she’s sad, comforts her when she misses me, and let’s her know when the behavior she has is not appropriate.
As the end of the school year approaches, I’ve began to get a little sad because I know just how lucky we are and she’s set the bar so high. I’ve been blown away and so fortunate to have a teacher as amazing as she is. She’s helped set this foundation for Harlan that gets her excited about school and excited about learning. She’s helped build upon her character. She’s helped shape Harlan throughout this year. These are tasks and responsibilities that are far beyond her job description, but she does them because she genuinely cares about my daughter. And the best part, Harlan cares so much for her, too.
Just last week I attended my little brother’s high school graduation in Tampa. Many of the students he graduated with her some of mine. As they called their names and I watched them walk across the stage, I’d mention to my sister that I taught them. Although it’s been five years since they walked into my classroom, I felt this enormous sense of pride as they walked across that stage. They made it. They suceeded. And I was so proud at them for doing so. I didn’t know until then that they’d made far more of an impact on my life than I’d thought.
We walked outside after graduation and I began bumping into many of those former students of mine that had just walked across that stage. Many were surprised to see me, just as surprised as I was that they actually remembered me. I made sure that I told every single one of them how happy it made me to see them doing so well.
I know what it feels like to be inside of that classroom and responsible for more than 100 students throughout the year. But it wasn’t until this year that I was familiar with the other side. The side that watches their children walk into a classroom everyday and anxious because you no longer have the control. And this year, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to take that control away from me.
Thank you, Mrs. K, for loving Harlan and for being such a powerful influence in her life. We are forever grateful.
