Well I got through yesterday in one piece. I went to bed at 8:30 though, I was so tired. Now just three and a half more days to go!
This year I am saying goodbye to kids that I have taught for two years. Some of them paid me the biggest compliment I think I have ever had... yesterday, as soon as they got their yearbooks, they got a pass to come to my classroom and asked me to sign. It was so awesome. Of course I was in the middle of teaching a lesson so I had to say no, I'll sign it Monday! But it made me feel really good. It's difficult to describe the emotions of letting these kids go. I've loved them unconditionally, made them work so hard many of them came to tears at one point or another, and watched them grow both physically and emotionally. They are ready for high school, most of them, without a doubt. The ones who aren't ready have been crippled by parents who refuse to let their kids be responsible for their own stuff. Not much to be done about that. They are the vast minority.
Watching them move on to high school is kind of like watching your own kid when they make some huge accomplishment, like the first time they ride a two-wheeler alone or talk themselves through solving a problem. It's a whole lot of pride, mixed with sadness knowing you'll probably never see most of them again, and hopefulness for the future of our society because these are the kids who will be in charge in 10 years and some of them are just brilliant. They come in to my classroom shorter than me, tiny, scared little things with zero self-confidence and afraid of everything! They leave much taller than me, holding the world in the palms of their hands, and believing they can do anything. It's quite a sight. I wish everyone could see it!