On Thursday, my third and fourth grade students performed a huge musical! The gymnasium was packed- standing room only! The show was WONDERFUL because the students worked really hard and gave it their all up on the stage. I will be honest- I do require a lot of them. Musical theater is my "thing", so I am always striving for perfection. Well, as close to perfection 8, 9, and 10 year olds can get! And let me say, they brought their "A" game... and had fun doing it!
Obviously putting on shows of this magnitude is extremely stressful. But it is part of the job. And I love it. Whenever I hear all 175 of them singing together for the first time, all the stress washes away and I have to do my best not to cry tears of joy. I know, sometimes I can be a sucker!
At school the next day, I was rewarded with thank your cards from some of the students. How lucky I am to get thank you cards for simply doing my job. I wanted to share some of them... no names though!
We sang a song called Surf's Up... so this student drew Jelly surfing!
They kind of know all about my cats...
A little hard to read, but it says...
"When I was up on stage in front of all of those people singing I felt
good instead of nervous the way I felt before. Thank you Mrs. Michael-Cooney"
I like that this little girl said I taught her "how to look sharp". I must use that phrase more than I think! She also mentioned that she saw some Mee-Maws crying. I always joke with the kids that the Mee-Maws always love the shows and will cry tears of happiness when they see their "grandbaby" singing and dancing on the stage. It has sort of become a joke in my room now that I love to talk about Mee-Maws.
And now this kid, he couldn't be more right...
Sometimes teaching is hard and stressful. But stuff like this... it reminds you that it is all worth it. And I don't feel deserving of all the nice things they say because I am far from the perfect teacher. But I am so thankful for their kind words!
What is the most stressful thing about your job and what makes it all worth it?
Wow, Megan! Those notes are amazing. You truly make a difference in the lives of children. So honorable and respectful--you should be SO proud. You should keep those in a place where you can go back and read them if you are having a bad day. Talk about making a girl feel good. Thank you for sharing! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteMy job can get stressful as I work on a product in HP that is somewhat of a game changer in the tech world. It gets stressful because we are under pressure to deliver more features in less time with less people. BUT the people are work with are amazing. We laugh, we joke and just have a very good time. If it weren't for the people, it's hard to say if I would still be doing this.
Yes, I will be keeping these notes forever because it is not only a reminder that I am making a difference but it is a reminder to always do MY best, even when I am tired, cranky, angry, etc.
DeleteI can't imagine the pressure you are under but I understand and am quite used to the whole concept of having to do more and more but with less time and less hands on deck. Unfortunately I am sure a lot of people are in that boat no matter their type of work. I am glad you love the people you work with. That is KEY. If you can't laugh and have fun, work would be boring and way too stressful!
Those are the best! I love that one said they wanted to be a music teacher really bad!
ReplyDeleteHaha I know! :) Actually I think what she wanted to be is a performer. However, as you know, when you teach you're on stage every day!
DeleteAwww so sweet!! Congrats on a successful musical!! You should be proud, you are a great role model for your students!
ReplyDeleteMy job never really gets super stressful, but when it does, sometimes the best reward is just knowing that the meeting/project/grant/whatever is DONE. It also makes every day worthwhile that I have such great coworkers who are encouraging, easy to work with, passionate, and NOT crazy :)
I am so glad you have wonderful coworkers are so supportive! I think that is so important. I love the people I work with too. For the most part everyone helps each other out and doesn't take themselves too seriously.
DeleteOh and I hear ya on just being glad when things are DONE. I mean, I loved doing the musical and am so happy with how it went, but I am also doing the happy dance that we did it and now I don't ever have to sing those songs again. ;)
DeleteI would treasure notes like that forever. It’s amazing how a job can have its stressful moments, but then reward us ten-fold when all is said and done. Those are the types of jobs that make it all worthwhile. Everyone should experience that sense of value and pride. I love how the students know you well enough to mention Jelly and other little quirks about you.
ReplyDeleteI work in the college atmosphere and experience a very similar sense of joy when my students go out of their way to thank me or when I am able to help a student go to grad school or advance in his or her career. Knowing that you directly impact someone’s life is pretty special.
I wish everyone could experience the sense of value I feel when I get notes like these. So many people work so hard and get little thanks for it! I am glad you get that feeling when you help your students continue on into the work force or grad school.
DeleteAhh, those cards are priceless! You are making a BIG impact on them! Well done! The kids can tell that you are sharing your passion with them!
ReplyDeleteHave your cats ever visited your class???? That would be fun.
Omg I would love for them to visit but I don't think that is possible. However, I do have a lot of piano students from my school so those students who come to my house have met my cats.
DeleteI bet they loved seeing your smiling face in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI seriously choked up reading these. The best thing I've ever received has been notes from students. I keep them in a binder and reread them during hard times. THIS is why we teach. I'm glad you got all those notes; you clearly deserve them! It's so wonderful when kids willingly open up and show you how they feel.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you keep your notes! I need to make sure I keep mine all in the same place so I never lose them. I bet it is hard for middle schoolers to open up so I am sure it means A LOT when they do.
DeleteI love that several of your kids gave you cards - especially homemade cards!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is the downside to what I do - but every once in awhile I do hear really nice compliments from people who have used our venue:)
Well that is good :) I definitely talk up businesses I use in which I really like! I also have a shit list... and I tell people about that one too ;)
DeleteIt's usually big corporations.... Comcast, United, Weis Markets.... AUGH HATE THEM.
DeleteAwwwwww these cards are all so sweet! I love them all, especially Jelly surfing. That's so cute that all of your kids know about your cats!!
ReplyDeleteMy office space is getting switched while I'm on vacay and someone else will be moving my computer and all my stuff to my new office. Before I left today I said, "don't forget to move my pictures!" and my colleague said, "don't worry, the picture of your cat will be in your new office when you get back." :D I guess they know I care more about my pic of Cecil than my pic of Adam! haha
Awww I am sure they will take good care of Cecil's picture :) I know my colleagues would do the same for me.
DeleteKids are so, so sweet! Especially when they aren't yours. ;-) I am so glad these kids are writing thank you notes. I was raised to always write hand-written thank yous and I still do to this day. Teaching really is extremely rewarding.
ReplyDelete"Especially when they aren't yours" <---- YES! :) That is awesome you were taught to write hand written notes. My parents never had us do that but I feel like we should have.
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