Embrace: The Number

I haven’t written very much this summer because I have been busy traveling the world with my favorite adventurer-my daughter.  She and I have just finished a whirlwind tour of Europe, and I am looking forward to writing about that soon. However, I have something else on my heart today.  This morning, as I was coming home from the gym I got a text from a very sweet student, excited over her success on the AP exam (I am humbled and honored to teach AP Language and Composition).  I was very proud of her.  I knew scores came out today, and I was eager to get home to look at them.  I made a cup of coffee and sat down at my computer, took a deep breath, and logged in to the system to see my students’ scores. Immediately I scrolled through the results, thinking about what these numbers mean as a reflection of a year of teaching. Would these numbers give me permission to be proud of the work we did in my classroom this year, or would it make me feel ashamed and like a failure?

And that’s where I stopped. I thought. "Is this seriously and honestly all that this year was all about?" I mean, I have thought and prayed and reflected about this year. There were some things about this past year I would have changed, and I have already begun thinking about what I can do differently.  But, there were many things I loved about this year. Should I allow this year to be dictated by one number? My students were amazing. I watched them grow, and learn, and I felt the success of learning each day. There are so many many things I will never forget from the people I got to spend an entire year learning to love. I will never forget our first Socratic seminar, or playing Catch Phrase (apologies to my neighbor teachers on those days), our first ever APLAC Christmas Party, our words of the year, the BRAWL, Ben Franklin, our field trip, the many thoughtful things these young adults said and shared, our final project-so many things. I hope they know that they are so much more than a number to me, and I hope they will not use this number to reflect their importance and learning of our year.

I just wanted to write a quick post to my people-I am proud of you! Remember what I said about your scores in the beginning of our journey-these are simply a reflection of your writing skills, particularly measured against your ability to write at the collegiate level.  These numbers are not a reflection of you, your importance, or your value.  Some of you demonstrated exceptional proficiency and are ready for a new challenge.  Some of you need the support of a college composition course. I hope, when you reflect on our time together, you will allow this number to be only a part of your thoughts on your success and our class.  I am going to remember this year as much much more than the results that were posted today.  I will not remember you by your score. The best part of being your teacher was learning with you.  Each one of you has something truly unique in my memory. I wish you all the best as this adventure ends and a new one begins. You are all a part of my heart, and I am incredibly blessed and proud to know you and have been your teacher. I love you always!

Now, I am curious-how do you measure your success?  I would love you to leave your thoughts or e-mail/text me. I hope you feel like our time together was valuable-I know I felt honored to have been a tiny small part of your journey.