It’s been
five weeks since I walked out of my third grade classroom, out of the doors of
Kate Smith Elementary School, to walk into a “new” unknown…retirement. I’ve had several weeks to reflect, reminisce,
and remember… all those many memories.
I just
received a phone call from Kaylor, the college intern that interned in my
classroom this school year. She is also
a dear friend. She told me that she
received a teaching position in 3rd grade at KMS. I am so overflowed with joy for her. At the
same time, memories of the past 31 years flood into my mind.
Thirty-one
years ago, 27 years old, I stepped out of college to look for a teaching
job. It was a little later than usual to
finish college, but I had been working full time. I was married and had one child. I was so inexperienced in teaching, in fact
so inexperienced around kids, other than my 5 year old daughter. I had never been a baby-sitter, never worked
at camps, I had not substituted in the classroom, didn’t have younger siblings.
There just weren’t any small children around me. What in the world had I done…I said I would
never be a teacher. That was pretty much
because my dad, mom, and older sister were all educators. I couldn’t be just like them, I thought (although
they were pretty amazing people); daddy, a football and basketball coach with
tons of awards including Florida Coach Hall of Fame. He was also a high school principal. Mama a girl’s physical education teacher and
volleyball/ softball coach and admired by so many. And my only sister, who I looked up to, was an
elementary school teacher who was making a rightful name for herself. I was going to be a secretary. (How could I ever measure up to them anyway?)
After about
5 years of working 9 to 5 and watching my mom and sister play during the
summers, I decided I might better rethink this thing. Summers off might not be
too bad an idea! Since I already had an
AA degree, I knew it wouldn’t take too long to get my degree in teaching, so
with that tiny thought in my mind, God opened the door wide open for me and I
walked through it. I was so uncertain of
the future, but God knew the plans that he had.
It wasn’t
easy but I finally got my degree and I interned in Vernon. Since I had been
raised in Vernon, I just thought that I would get hired there. However, I got a job after waiting for about 3
months at Kate Smith Elementary School in Chipley. There I stayed for my entire teaching career.
I didn’t love teaching at first. It had
to grow on me as God did a work in my life. I’ll just say I went through some
stuff; divorce, single parenthood, financial ups and downs, teenagers,
grandchildren, losing a parent, remarriage, just a few of life’s ups and downs.
I worked in first grade for many years and
not long after I started teaching, God gave me another precious child, a son. I
saw my daughter through 1st grade and then seven years later, I was
still teaching 1st grade when my son went through. As I continued to teach 1st grade
for a while I started to enjoy it more and more. I eventually moved to a transition
K-1 class and I found my niche. It was a
small class and I could do all the developmental activities that I loved doing. I could also take the students on field trips
that I developed around a thematic unit of study, like the one I did on a
transportation unit. We went to the
marina in Panama City to look at the boats and to the airport to watch the
planes take-off and land. I planned for
us to eat at a restaurant where the owner had model planes hanging from the ceiling
in the restaurant. My students thought
that was pretty cool to see first-hand what we talked about in the classroom. I really enjoyed sharing these meaningful experiences
with my students. We went to pumpkin
fields and saw cane syrup being made in the fall. We pretended that it snowed
in the winter (in Florida.) We sang
songs, recited rhymes, and had puppet shows. I always heard my dad say, “Those
were the good ‘ole days.” I found myself
saying those exact words. “Those were the good ‘ole days!” Those were the days when you felt like you
were teaching children…and loved it!
I moved to 2nd
grade and then to the 3rd grade, where I taught the longest period
of time and remained until the day I walked out for the last time. There I lovingly watched two of my
grandchildren through 3rd grade. I really enjoyed third grade and I especially
enjoyed teaching the summer camp every summer.
Even though some students had to go to summer school mandated by the
state, we tried to find a way to make it enjoyable for them, teaming up with
the Public Library and doing all of the many fun activities planned there.
Kate Smith Elementary School has been so good
to me and my family. I have made
precious friends with colleagues and parents alike, dear friends that I will
treasure for a lifetime. Wonderful memories of precious children…many that are
adults today.
When I found out that Kaylor was interning and
wanted to intern at Kate Smith in 3rd grade, God joined us together and
made a way for her to intern in my 3rd grade classroom. It was wonderful for me to be able to plant
seeds of my experiences in her life… and watch them grow as she did what she
had always dreamed of doing. Teaching! I
always told her fondly, “Kaylor, you remind me of a child with that look of
wonderment in your eye.” What an
extraordinary teacher she will be!
So, when she
called me today…I cried! I was filled
with bittersweet emotion and in awe of how God does things. How he intertwines
experiences and people together. I only
played a very small role in her becoming who she is today, but I find it so
amazing how He allowed me to end 31 years of teaching as he prepared her to
take my place! Perfect timing! God’s timing! Only He knew and He knew all
along. He cares about every detail!
Kaylor, I
know that you are going to be an awesome teacher…a teacher called, and anointed
by a Wonderful, Loving, Father God who always knew. He was just waiting for the "perfect" time.
Never lose
that “wonder!” Love you!
