Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers March Slice a Day Challenge! I’m slicing every day this month. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I miss, I love: Middle School Teaching Edition
I miss my own group of kids
who come to school in various stages of awake each morning
I love starting each day with them
“a new day with no mistakes in it- yet.” (Thanks L.M. Montgomery)
I miss laughing with my kids
who get to know my brand of humor from day one
I love telling them the muffin joke every so often
2 muffins sit in the oven. One says, “Oh my! It’s getting hot in here.” The other muffin says “ACK! A talking Muffin!”
I miss telling them
“You will love reading more than you ever have”
I love giving book recommendations
and threatening them with automatic suspension if they give me a spoiler to a book I haven’t read yet
I miss putting out a special snack and
surprising them with extra recess
I love not giving them homework
reminding them that it means we need to work so hard in school – It’s our job
I miss showing them that I understand
that I’m human, I make mistakes
I love helping them learn from mistakes
showing them the power of vulnerability
I miss sharing note-booking and sketch-noting
anchor charts and visual notes
I love watching more and more kids bring their pencil cases
full of colorful flair pens to the carpet each day
I miss their poetry
and writing with them every day
I love the challenge of figuring out what they need
and carrying my conferring toolkit around with me
I miss teaching
and being a second home to 50 or so 6th graders
I love how people always said, “6th grade? You must be a saint!”
and I would laugh to myself, knowing, secretly that 6th graders rock, and I’m the luckiest teacher in the world
On a Thought 
I feel like I could write this myself. I retired from teaching in 2017 and it seems harder to write slices now. Last year I worked hard at noticing and at writing ideas down. I think I deleted as many posts as I wrote. But. I did it. And, evidently, (a surprise to me) I’m going to write again this year! Here’s to finding slicing moments.
I’m glad you are going to write again!
I am coaching now — will get to go back to the classroom in a few years. But, I do miss it sometimes!
I’m captured by the wistfulness in your post. The note-booking, the sketchnoting, the flair pens…such specific and evocative details for all of us with an identity as a literacy teacher.
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that those details worked.
Love this format! I’m saving it for a future slice. And as a fellow 6th grade teacher, they are simply the best human beings on the planet! I’ve been retired for five years now & I still miss them.
Yes, please try the I miss I love structure.Yes, 6th graders are awesome!
Gorgeous. I’m right there with you. I love being with my kids. So completely alive when in our beautiful classroom. Your mention of books and on being a human. How many times a week do I find the need to mention my humanness? Thank you for sharing this slice of your life.
Cary
I know – so human, right? Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. 🙂