Catching up

So I have been meaning to post this since June—June 10th to be exact, my last day at Mount…

On my first day of teaching at Mt. Diablo High School in January, I was given clear and specific advice from all 3 other foreign language teachers on how to survive the apparently difficult semester ahead: “KEEP ALCOHOL,” they told me. At first, I was a little shocked by this piece of advice. "Are you kidding me?!?!," I thought. I mean, this is ME we’re talking about—the girl who is poured half a glass of wine and almost never finishes it; the girl who had only one glass of sangria on her 21st birthday; the girl who just recently went to her first bar in the United States and had a drink that wasn’t even a real drink. How on earth would alcohol help get me through the semester? As I sit here on the eve of my final day of teaching at Mount enjoying a glass of 2004’ (the year I graduated Mitty...coincidence?) Merlot from Chile, I am not sure that I will every fully understand why exactly it was that all of my colleagues were so unanimous in their counsel to me. But I can say that having a glass of wine after a long day of teaching, bad or good, always helped me to relax and unwind; to not think about the struggles many of my students face when they go home; and, most happily, to celebrate my students and their never-ending ability to amaze and inspire me.

I cannot believe that I am no longer a teacher at MDHS. The last few days of school were spent reviewing in preparation for finals. My Spanish 1 classes took a traditional final exam, but my Spanish 2 students had the choice of writing an original children’s book or creating a music video in Spanish. I just have to say that I am extremely proud of my 4th period students who chose to do the music video project. Many of the students I recommended do this project were apprehensive at first because they had to perform the music video in front of the class. When it came down to the day of the final, though, I was blown away by most of my students’ creativity and performances. Watching students do something with confidence and enthusiasm that they never thought they could do is why I think I love teaching so much, and especially why I loved teaching at Mount.

The last day of school was slightly liberating, but mostly bittersweet. Most of my students did not come to school that day, but the ones who did come are those I am sure to miss the most. I spent the day signing yearbooks, sharing my study abroad stories and scrapbooks, and saying goodbye and good luck. Our St. Mary’s cohort went out to Chili’s to “celebrate” surviving our first year of teaching. We talked about our “last-day” experiences, gossiped about our infamous students, and shared our most embarrassing, worst, and best moments of the year. The perfect ending to a challenging yet wonderful first year of teaching.