Farewell 4th Grade

Today was the last day of school & Tyler's last day at the elementary school. Today was also the first time I've been sad to see the school year come to an end. Tyler isn't an easy student. He's bored easily, he processes things quicker than most, he needs to be challenged, and quite honestly he's probably brighter than some of the teachers he's had. He's also immature, often intolerant of his peers, and just plain annoying sometimes. It's hard for teachers to know how to "handle" students like Tyler, but his teacher this year "got" it, and she made all the difference.

I ran across this quote tonight and thought it perfectly described his teacher's attitude:

"As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.” - Dr. Haim Ginott

You don't run across teachers like this very often, and we were all sad to tell her goodbye. She was definitely an answer to prayer.

Making their way down the 1st grade hallway

At our elementary school, on the last day of school, all the students and teachers line the hallways to "clap out" the 4th graders. On their way out of the building, the 4th graders walk through each hallway while the other students clap and give high 5s. Tyler & Danielle have talked about it in years past, but it was Tyler's turn today. Lots of parents showed up to clap (& take pictures!), too. It was actually quite emotional and a really neat send off. Unfortunately none of my pictures turned out very good. I just got a new lens and obviously should have practiced on a less memorable occasion first!

A brotherly hug as they passed Danielle's class