Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Fruits of Your Labor!

In terms of teaching, this year has been a wonderful year in seeing the fruits of my hard work as a teacher, and the hard work of parents reap numerous benefits! I was wonderfully pleased to graduate with a Master's Degree in Education this June, along side a former student I taught who graduated from King/Drew Magnet High School in 2003! Talk about being pleased. This year I witnessed another former student, Justin, class of 2003 King/Drew Magnet High School, and UC Berkeley grad, launch his own business, destined for success. Another former student, Mr. Morton, graduate of King/Drew, and Stanford University, returned to join the ranks of young, innovative teachers. As I sat at commencement, watching my student, Javon Brown graduate with me from Cal State Los Angeles, and as I witnessed another graduation ceremony from King/Drew Magnet High School, I was overcome by happiness and a renewed sense of purpose. Whether I make $75,000 or $17,000 nothing beats seeing your students and their family overcome with happiness from their graduation to the next academic level. Nothing beats hearing students thank you for your hard work. Nothing beats hearing a racous bunch of students, intelligent and personable tell you that, although tough, they felt well prepared for the AP English Language Exam. Nothing beats having former students return and tell you that they still use the notes and handouts from the class you taught in their classes at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cal Sate L.A. and Xavier. So, I thought it would be fitting to give myself a little pat on the back, as well as all those teachers who labor to see the smile of a student when they understand a concept, and I say to both parent, student and teacher alike--job well done!