I Love My Students!

Can I just say that I love my students? For so many reasons, I just love these kids:

• One of my 9th graders (whose single mom disowned him when he was 14) came up to me during lunch last week and gave me a big hug. I was so surprised, and delighted that he felt comfortable enough with me to do that. He came in a few days later and asked how my weekend had been. We had a good conversation about what we did over the weekend.
• I gave my drama students (grades 9-12) the St. Crispian speech the first day of class. The second day of class, most of them came with it memorized. Enough so that we could perform it as an ensemble. It was awesome! They are the most cooperative, hard-working group of drama students I've ever had in class.
• Last week, when the stress of directing five 1-act plays hit me, I barked at one of my actresses when she announced she was unable to come to the performance. I love that she accepted my apology, with tears running down her face. "You were so mean," she cried. "I know. I really don't like it when I say mean things. Please forgive me," I said.  Tomorrow she's auditioning for our drama competition team. 
• The district superintendent came into my classroom today, to observe what was going on. The Smartboard was lit up, displaying the theme; the whiteboard was covered with questions; and all students were engaged in the learning process. Each student had an open text book, a notebook they were writing in, and listened carefully as our guests addressed them. I was so proud of their behavior!