The Finish Line

For the record, I tried to get the "Chariots of Fire" theme song imported onto our blog. I was unsuccessful, as you can see, so please read the following post with that song in mind. You know: Dun dun-dun, dun dunnn, dun, symbol crash, etc...

It's finally here: the last week of school.

Looking back, there was a time when being at this point of the school year was unimaginable. Back in September and October, when we were battered and bruised by the day to day of teaching, we didn't even allow ourselves to think of June, for fear that its false hope and promised triumph would only depress us and further encumber our work.

It's been a tough year. There were days when I honestly had to ask myself, "What am I doing?" There were days for both of us when we were pushed to - and nearly over - the edge. We can both still remember the first time we were threatened by a student, the first time we felt unsafe at school, or those memorable moments when they call you things you wouldn't feel comfortable repeating in front of Satan himself.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. For every student I had tell me they hated me, I had 10 that told me they loved me. For every kid we had to throw out of our classrooms, we had 20 that stayed and listened and learned. It's impossible to paint a rosy, unblemished picture of our first school year as teachers, but looking back over the last 10 months, we can't help but be happy for our victories, for the success of many of our students, and for the learning experience this grand social experiment has been.

This week we reach the finish line. In August, we start the race all over again.