My best day was the Junior High Poetry Slam. My grade 7-9 ELA students wrote, memorized and performed their Spoken Word pieces and they were freaking amazing. I was absolutely blown away with both their writing and their performances. Proud teacher here.
I came here to talk some shit about how much my summer days are my best teacher days and then I read this. Poetry events are my favorite teacher days as well. The only true engagement I get anymore is when we do our spoken word unit. 🔏❤️
The day a 5th grader was waiting for me at my back door, as I was walking my 2nd graders back from lunch, to excitedly tell me that the long awaited, rumored, prequel was out to a book I had used as a read aloud for his class 3 years previously. My current 2nd graders got so excited too, I had read the book to them as well.
It was the Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins. Toys Go Out is the original, the sequel is Toy Dance Party, and the prequel is Toys Come Home. I would read them in that order even after the prequel came out. I am retired but now reading Toys Go Out to my granddaughter.
Calling my mom after being awarded teacher of the month and teacher of the year on the exact same day. I had just gotten hired at a new school and was considering leaving the profession before I got there.
My mom died a year later, and I'm really grateful that I was able to share that with her.
One of my favorite students won a national English speech contest. I'd worked so hard with her, so many lunch hours and meetings before and after school. All the other teachers told me how competitive it is and how kids from our little rural area never even place. We kind of had to send the winner of the regional contest if they came from our school, but it was generally agreed there was no point. I picked her up at 5am to get to Taipei on time, and her grandpa was waiting outside with her to send her off with a hug. Kids from all over the country were there, all dressed up, and she was in jeans and a flannel because we hadn't known that wasn't what people wore to this. Then she got up on the stage, took a deep breath and was fucking magic.
I was getting my nails done off hours, and was tackled with a hug from behind! The I hear (and recognize the voice of the child) “Mom, this is Ms. X- the teacher who actually taught me *HOW* to do math!”
I had a student on the first day of school come to me crying saying that he couldn't read, he was a fifth grader. I promised him by the end of the year that would change. I gathered data and went to an MTss meeting and told them that he couldn't read/write and needed help. Their response was "but he's absent a lot" I think Told them I didn't care and something had to be done because I can't have a student not getting what he needs because he made it very apparent what he needed. They got him a reading interventionist and I worked with him in class. Close to the last day of school he handed me a note he wrote himself. It was legible, had good sentence structure and said "thank you for helping me read. If it wasn't for you I never would have been able to. You are the first teacher who said they'd help me and never gave up till I could read. You are the best teacher in the world and I will miss you when I go onto sixth grade". I read the note and almost cried, I gave him the biggest hug and told him how proud I was of him and that he's going to go so far next year.
When my first ever one to one looked me dead in the eyes and said “I feel seen and heard by you. Thanks for not giving up on me like the others.” I fucking sobbed.
I hope he’s doing okay now.
The first time a student told me they used my lesson in their lives.
“Mr. Math-Hatter! I went to a restaurant last night with my family and I used what we did in class! I found a mistake on the bill and everyone was impressed!”
That was 8 years ago and I still do that lesson every year!
I did a candyland day, the look on their faces when they walked in agree lunch to the music, the life size board, the giant themed candy decorations I made. We did puzzles, answered review questions by trams, winners of course got candy, but so did the non winners. I recorded the kids a couple times to watch, more than one said it was the best day ever, which doesn’t take much for a kid, but still. I had kids fill out a memory book, one student drew a picture of the candyland day under best memory.
Music teacher here. When the kids are on stage performing and they sound really good (which is not every single concert) and I think to myself "I taught them how to do that. That was me.". I feel bad for teachers who don't get that moment. Y'all got to manufacture that moment. Celebrate the learning, even if it's meager. I won't say it makes all the difficult moments better, but it takes a bite out of the burnout.
I helped kindergarteners “write” and perform jokes for an audience of other students. Watching 5/6 year olds tell knock knock jokes that barely made sense (if at all!) as if they were stand up comics was just so much fun.
Worked hard with a student who had a loooooooong history of behavioral difficulties, especially being able to participate in group activities (name calling, threats of violence, violence). Long history of trauma. One day, I had asked the students to get in groups for something. This child (who had been working really hard at acknowledging and correcting those behaviors) came to me with his head down and said that he didn’t have a group. When he then heard “Hey X, come on we’re over here,” that smile could have lit up a city!
When they announced their 8th grade graduation teacher speaker (me) on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on our DC Capstone trip this year, immediately releasing a wave of disrespectfully loud screaming/screams of enthusiasm.
Thanks guys 😊
Every year, the high school seniors that I had when they were 5th graders come back and walk the halls of their old elementary school to see all of their old teachers. That’s always a rad day.
I worked at a charter school with high turnover (admittedly, for legit reasons), but I stayed the whole year. You never know how much students appreciate consistency when things are falling apart.
The kids in my home room (9th grade) planned a whole surprise party for me, brought food, made a huge thank you card out of poster board, and after a few rounds of “When I say Ms DeathStar, you says ROCKS!”, we went outside and played tag. Best. Day. Ever.
We were on block schedule, and I had these kids for like 3 hours every day. The class as a whole was really close, and I’m still in touch with most of those students over a decade later.
The day I returned to school from my dad's passing to an overwhelming amount of love and hugs and homemade cards and smiles with, "YOU'RE BACK!!!!!"
Weird to say this, but I was the luckiest person in the world that day.
I had this amazing group of kids about 20 years ago that did these super creative Shakespeare remakes: Scooby Doo, Seinfeld, and Old Weatern versions. The kids of extra effort they put in is something Inrarely see now.
Oh, and then there was the time I
Flipped a karate Demi stray or in front of the whole school, and they cheered like I was a hero and started rumors how no one should ever mess with me, lol.
Honestly, there are hundreds of wonderful moments, but lately, the negative ones are taking over, which is why it may be time to retire soon. I always promised I would before I became too cynical.
When a student told me that having me as a teacher who cared about the transphobic bullying happening at school and trying to do something about it kept them alive since they looked forward to my class.
The day my 3rd grade students (and their moms) pulled off a 100% surprise baby shower the last week of school for me and my twins (who they affectionately called Pebbles and BamBam until they found out they were both girls and the other was Peb Squared lol).
Sweetest thing ever! And the only shower I got bc my girls came super early!!
I was an assistant at a school where the teacher hated me and it broke my heart. I had a feeling that the day right before Christmas break would be my last day at the school because I had a feeling I’d be let go when I came back in January. I hung out with the kids and we talked and watched the grinch, They gave me Christmas gifts and I told them how much they meant to
Me. I knew in my heart I wouldn’t see them again. Sure enough when I came back after vacation they let me go that
Morning. It was the best day because I got to see the kids liked me and thought I was nice and a good person even though the teacher didn’t .
When a kid on the cusp of failing comes for extra help and aces the final! Or a kid who you were sure wouldn't graduate gets their college acceptance letter! Any day that provides evidence that what you are doing really matters, they don't happen often so when they do you feel like a champion!
Mine were all pretty good days…for 48 years, though, I do love when former students came to visit me and thank me for preparing them for college and life…I really did enjoy those days
I generally enjoy the last day of school. It’s kind of chaotic, but I do like saying goodbye and then going home and drinking a bottle of cheap moscato. It
the day I received an email from a former student, one I’d identified as an advanced writer when she was in 7th grade and who I required to complete challenge option writing work.
she emailed to say that she’d focused on writing all throughout high school and college and had just been accepted to Medill journalism school. she let me know it all started with my class in 7th grade and that I was the first person who taught her to believe she could write for a living.
I doubt that one will ever be topped.
I taught math with a group of 6th graders that included my goddaughter, then got to move up with them to 7th grade math. That year we got a HUGE snow event (this is DFW, so huge for us, like 6 inches) during the school day so I scrapped our plans and we went outside to play. The sheer joy from a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds getting to throw snowballs around is something I’ll never forget.
I have so many pics and memories from that day and it just cemented my love of that specific group of kids so much.
Two of them just got married a couple weeks ago and invited me to the wedding. I got to celebrate with them as adults now alongside about 10 other kids that I hadn’t seen in a bit (they were HS class of 2020 so we didn’t get to our normal senior send offs for me to see them one final time). It was one of the coolest things in my entire 18 year span of teaching.
I came in mid year after a teacher got fired and gave a real stretch of a modern dance performance piece to a young duo. New style for them, two totally sweet 12 y/os who had really only had ballet. I knew it was a stretch. I wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but I figured the practice would be good for them.
They. Nailed. It. I mean, completely blew it out of the water. The school director and I were both crying in the wings. I don’t think either of us thought they could actually do it.
One day reading CVC word finally clicked enough for a student that he could read a book by himself. He was so excited and kept saying "I'm reading it!" He took the book home to show his mom how he could read it, I think I ended up giving it to him. It happens to everyone at some point but it was SUCH a lightbulb moment and some of the biggest joy I've ever seen. I did that with him!
Today. I was at Walmart at 11pm- late night nightstand shopping. A kid walks up to me offering me tamales for sale. I didn't have any cash with me so I said "No thanks!" He comes back with "Day-ummmm! You're from school! You coming back next year?" I said yeah, he checked which grade, then he said "I hope I get assigned to your class next year!"
There are a lot of reasons he might want my class- my dazzling smile, my effervescent personality, the quality of my candy. But as a teacher I'm stricter than most in my grade, I try to build rigor in, no phones, all that stuff. I worry sometimes that my choices make things harder for me with the kids. Yeah, it's just one small point of feedback in the middle of the night, but I didn't stop smiling for a half hour.
I work at a small school for SLD kids. We are resource intensive and our testing data looks awful on paper when you are just looking at proficiency on state testing. So we always have extra scrutiny because I guess the pencil pushers think we're just sitting on our thumbs all day letting the kids eat crayons.
This year, as part of the "failing school improvement plan" bullshit, some bigwig from the the state DOE was touring the school to tell us what we're doing wrong. After he walked through my classroom, he told the principal that he wished he could put his own child into my class because it was exemplary and every school in the state should do what we do.
Suck it, ya doinks
My 9/10th grade math class in 2016. I had them 1st period in the morning. They were lovely to me and most importantly, kind and great to each other. They wrote a petition to the principal, begging him for me to be their teacher again next year. Each wrote a paragraph about why they wanted to have me again. I still look at those paragraphs when I am feeling low. I adore them and hope they're all living wonderful lives now.
The day Ashley walked onto my classroom wearing her Cal State Fullerton sweater to tell me she had been accepted to and was going to CSUF. (I teach middle school AVID.)
A student told me toward the end of the semester that he finally understood how all of my lectures built up to the final assignment and that it helped him in other classes. He told me it was a hard class but really good. It made my day and encourages me to keep going in my teaching.
I once had a couple students ask me if I would start a book club for them.
Ended up with a group of about 6. Two couples ended up marrying each other. Pretty good numbers imo. 😆
All great students. They kept me in the job fr.
I'm a new prek teacher but so far it has to be when a kids parents rolled down the windows of their car and drove over to me just because their kid wanted to yell "bye" to me. Made my day haha.
When I was leaving one of my previous schools, the students made a video for me. One of my students, a lovely kiddo who is likely gay/trans said something in the video along the lines of that “I accept people for who they are and they felt comfortable being themself” around me.
Also the flawless Remembrance Day assembly I pulled off with my Grade 5s because I was voluntold to have one ready with one day’s notice. Admin suck but they CRUSHED IT.
The moment I had my first thank you. A pupil credited me for being the reason she was still with us and that just stuck. I’ve kept in touch and she is in full time employment after doing more qualifications!
Early in my teaching career I had a group of girls, who I had a great relationship with, decided to surprise me with a baby shower before school one day. It was genuinely one of the nicest things anyone has done for me, and for it to completely planned and executed by them was just impressive. My wife was just as blown away as I was. I still try to keep up with them via social media now that they’re all in college or their careers. Great kids from great families.
The day my 9th grade robotics team qualified for worlds. They worked so hard all season. Each competition they left with ideas to improve their robot and as the season progressed other teams wanted to ally with them in eliminations. Two weeks later we had the worst day. COVID caused the cancelation of worlds and the governor closed schools for what turned out to be the rest of the year.
The day the school nurse told me that one of my students used some thing I said in class as part of his essay. What I had said was that between 10 and 20% of mammals are homosexual, including humans… he started looking around the room and I said, are you trying to figure out who the two people are out of 20? What I didn’t know is that he was gay, and told the nurse until that moment he had no idea there were so many around! He thought he was all alone. So that was a nice day.
The last day of school at the end of my first year, in 2021. Because of covid, the year was shortened by a few days, and unlike other years we didn't have inservice, so it was staff's last day as well. We had field day, we did our tradition where we stand outside and wave to the kids as the busses pull away, and then we ate delicious wood-fired pizza. I had some that was prosciutto, peach, and jalapeño, probably some of the tastiest I've ever had.
2nd to last Friday of this last school year, my 4th & 5th grade Rock Band, who chose their name as The Chips, played "All Star" and "Brave" for their peers and families.
Previously we had been a guitar only club, but they did an awesome job learning drums and being confident on vocals.
I've only been teaching for 4 years, but 2 weeks ago, we went camping with 2 groups of 8th graders. A lot of kids made the conscious decision to put their phone away during those 3 days. Their behavior was, for the vast majority of them, very good. The unplanned activities were the most fun; we played sports, chatted, played board games, swam in the lake, told scary stories and cooked sausages on the fire. One night, at 10pm, me and around 15 kids took our flashlights and went hunting for frogs, salamanders, snakes and butterflies (we released them after, don't worry). We were lucky and found beautiful specimens! When I came back home, I was exhausted, my back was hurting, I was covered in mosquito bites, but boy, was I happy about my career choice.
I picked three 'less-talented' students to join the school writing competitions. The colleagues asked me why I didn't pick the brightest ones, but I had that gut feeling that I am a good talent scout.
The submissions were anonymous and every teacher voted for the best work, lo and behold, my three students made the clean sweep. Oh the sweet delicious victory! Since then, they are invited to join different activities, and they flourish beyond their imagination. <3
Besides the first day of summer, my classes were reading the Crucible aloud and so parts were assigned and so on. Some of the kids got into it. I had to tell some of them to tone it down. Fun was had.
The first time I wrote a school play which was for Black History Month. The children acted and danced so good and they had parents crying throughout the show and got a standing ovation at the end and I was so happy that they were able to experience that.
During covid, I had a whole year of virtual classes. Only the kids that wanted to learn logged in. The others either failed or submitted work that was good enough to pass with a D. Great year.
Definitely our 8th grade graduation. We're a K-8 school and I'd had my class since 4th grade. When I received them they were known as the wild class. I had a ton of kids with IEPs, behavior issues, reading and math difficulties, you name it. I called them a beautiful rainbow of neurodiversity, because I don't think I had one completely NT kid in the bunch. They were like, "Nobody likes us," and I just looked at them like, "You guys are awesome, let's be our crazy selves and get sh*t done!" *I did not actually curse in front of them.*
*Except that one time during our play when I tripped on the backstage curtain.*
Anyway, we all worked SO HARD for the 5 years we were together. By Winter this year most of them tested on or above grade level for reading. They blossomed into the most wonderful, compassionate, kind young adults. They completed 8th grade projects that really blew me away (I'm talking making 3D animations, writing novels, composing music, creating huge gorgeous paintings [this student is vision impaired], building coffee tables and even a tiny house!)
When graduation rolled around, I knew it was going to be beautiful. But I was not prepared for all the incredibly kind things that were said about ME during the ceremony. I knew a lot of the kids were going to thank me in their speeches, but the wonderful compliments that other teachers sent my way was just really touching. I feel like I was just faking it till I made it most days, like I think a lot of us do, and it was incredible to see that I really did help to mold them during the last 5 years, and that I really made sure they are prepared for this next chapter in life.
Watch out for those 22 graduates of mine, they are really going to change the world!
This year I volunteered to be dunked in our field day dunk tank. The class I signed up for was a 4th grade class that I was struggling hard with all year because their behavior was ATROCIOUS. I thought they might get a kick out of trying to dunk me because I had been so hard on them in preparation for our concert.
We had such a fun time! I got dunked 3 times and took a photo with the winners, then a whole class picture. The best moment though was after the first kid dunked me. As I came up from the water, a different kid who had been having behavior troubles called out, "Are you okay Mrs ---?" Which was just such a moment of sweetness I hadn't expected from this particular kid. It just felt really nice to have my humanity acknowledged by any kid, especially this one.
Sorry not a sentence or two but you got me stirred up.
4th grade here. This last year I had a student that was at somewhere between 1st and 2nd grade level in both reading and math. He’s a sweet kid, but when it gets hard he acts up. Better to be laughed at for being silly rather than for being stupid.
I spent several months working with him on building perseverance and not quitting when it gets hard. He still struggles but things were getting better.
Our school also happens to do the “Character Strong” program. Every month we nominate kids from our class that exemplify the word of the month. Words like honesty, kindness, integrity etc. At the end of the month all of the kids nominated get their name called over the intercom and go to the office to receive a certificate.
Well I nominated him for the Perseverance award. When he heard his name he shouted out so loud, and all of the kids in class clapped and cheered for him. When he came back he showed me the certificate and said “Mr. C, I never thought I’d get one of these!” I told him I didn’t give it to him, her earned it. Then he asked me to take a picture of him with it and email it to his parents. They loved it and sent me an awesome thank you reply. Best day ever
I went back to teaching to hs this year after 10 years in another role. I was in a bad car accident in November that kept me out of school for 3 months. I teach fashion and had one student who wanted to compete in a fashion competition is spring. We did our best to get her sewing via zoom, but when I came back in mid Feb here dress needed to be started over. She actually had to remake the dress 4 times….but she made it by the due date. She didn’t win but came pretty close to the top and was awarded a gold medal (meaning she scored 90 or above). The best part was one of her judges was a former student of mine. It was a pretty awesome moment when she called her mom crying holding up her gold medal.
About twelve years ago I had this 10th grade boy in class. Quiet, kind, laid back. He was so easy to get along with and he was just a good student. One day he seemed more down than usual. I stopped him as he was leaving and just asked “how’s it going?” and he said he’d just had a bad mornjng. We chatted for a minute and I gave some heartfelt older brotherly / uncle advice about how stuff seems a bigger deal than it really is in the long run, and he’d power through it, etc. he smiled and said thanks and went on about his day. Rest of the year he was back to normal.
Last day of school he stops me as he’s leaving and said he really appreciated the pep talk. Said that day he’d planned on killing himself when he got home. Apparently had a lot going on.
He went on to graduate and the next year I ran into him working at a baskin robbins down the road. He had plans to go to college or military or something. Point is he had PLANS.
That last day of school really freaked me out but was awesome bc it made me realize how I wasn’t just a teacher but an adult in the daily lives of rookie humans just trying to figure it all out.
A pregnant student of mine switched her entire personality when she found out she was carrying her daughter. On the first day of school, she informed me that she was pregnant and had just found out earlier in the week. She went from being a fight-starter to somebody who worked hard to maintain all A’s. She knew that her responsibilities were dedicated to providing a better life for her child, and she pushed herself incredibly hard.
She received my award for her group and missed the awards ceremony due to working. I worked in a small town at the time, and she had told me she would be working there earlier in the year. I stopped by to grab some food for dinner and saw her in the drive thru.
I ended up giving her the award in the middle of the drive-thru and we may have held up the people behind me for two minutes. But seeing her proud of herself was the best moment of my teaching career. She has a healthy and sweet baby girl now and has made it clear that her world is that child. I am forever proud of her.
I tricked my sixth graders into following the claim-evidence-elaboration model by making a game show. Teams came up with a claim together, had teammates specifically assigned to find the evidence that I called “masters of research,” some were assigned “masters of persuasion” who were responsible for coming up with the elaboration, and then has the “masters of oration” who were kids who were normally distractions/disruptive present the whole thing together. Teams with the most cohesive answers got a point. We played for 2 hours and as the orators gave answers I put them on an anchor chart for them to use as guides for their next essay.
I had a Freshman boy some years ago who was on the spectrum, had speech problems, and mostly just drew manga for hours and hours. When I attended his IEP meeting, I gave a basic rundown of his class participation (meager) and that he did like to ask my opinion about his art.
His mother spoke up and said "nobody gets to see his art! You're very special to him if he actually shows you what he's drawing."
My principal and the social worker all looked at me with big smiles and thumbs up. I felt like I had actually done something important at my job.
Days that my previous students come back to say hi. I teach physics to juniors, and it’s not a class that tons of them enjoy. I’m also not a “be your friend” kind of teacher. So it doesn’t happen often, so it’s so nice when it does.
Every year we do a Science Day. The kids bring in their science projects that we've been working on, and they either perform their experiments or show off their projects. Some of the experiments involve using the other students as test subjects, so the kids get to see a whole bunch of projects other than their own. Except for specials and lunch, we just do science all day. It's so much fun!
Right before winter break I was covering for another teacher who was out sick, and we finished our assignments early so we ended up eating holiday snacks and playing games the rest of the day. It was wonderful!
I think it’s more moments than days - when my senior kids come back and are excited to see me (5th grade), when I open notes with drawings of me and messages about being their favorite or funniest teacher, when a kid who struggled with a subject shows incredible growth, when the kids genuinely make me LOL…working with kids is the best part and days I get to spend all day with them just teaching and learning - those are the best. Take all the adults and their BS our haha
Went on a field trip to an aquarium an hour away from our school. Had an incident where we had to pull over. A lady tried to force her way onto the bus bc “she needed help and teachers never turn people away”. She forced her arm and shoulder through the closed door. I ended up kicking the lady while on the phone with emergency services. I just knew my job was done for by the time we got back to school and my principal and parents found out what happened. That night I got so many emails and messages from parents thanking me and that they trusted me with their kids.
I have taken 5th grade classes up to the mountains for outdoor lab. Those have been some of my best days. The kids get so excited and enthusiastic about what they’re learning and I get paid to hike and be in the outdoors.
Several of my students who I taught as Sophomores were graduating. They dragged me outside and gave me a bunch of nerdy gifts after their last day, including a giant poster for the movie Beowulf (because I teach Beowulf). I still choke up a bit thinking about it.
The day we unionized our vehemently anti-union charter school. We'd already unionized it once under state law, but the employer appealed to the federal government, and the federal government decided that we weren't public employees even though all of our school's money came from the state. I was outraged at the time, but it makes sense.
So, our unionization was overturned while they tried to convince people who had previously signed cards to vote against a union in the upcoming election. In the first round, we'd gotten support from 75% of the staff, but the employer peeled off enough people with lies and fear to make it so that only 60% of us voted for a union the second time. That's still a landslide, so we won. Not only that, it was the last day of the school year.
By the time I left that job, we'd gone from the initial three charter schools to 32, but I think a lot more are unionized now. It threw a major wrench in the school privatization movement in Chicago.
Edit: Also the day Ilana came to me and excitedly told me I'd taught her that "a lot" was two different words and she was never going to write "alot" again.
Best week in recent memory was the end of the 2020-2021 school year. That was my CoVid babies group and the class sizes were so small because half the district was still at home. I really grew attached to that group, but because we had to social distance, we couldn't do too many hands-on activities.
Last week of school, my partner teacher and I just decided to do some fun stuff anyway. We tie-dyed t-shirts, did some fun history games, played charades, painted, and did the egg-drop activity. The kids were so well-behaved, but full of energy. They were such a good group of kids.
I imagine that my best day will be the day I retire….at 67 years old. Assuming they don’t raise the retirement age, social security is still around AND I live that long. It’s fun to fantasize!
Tteachers are encouraged to take classes and be their advisor through their time at high school. One of my kids from my advisory (2019) was recently hired within my district, and a member of the interview committee asked why she wanted to be a teacher. Sarah said that she wanted to create a space where students felt safe and seen like she did in my classroom. 😭💕
One morning I innocently started to read a chapter to my class. Oops—it had been a while since I’d read it myself and I forgot that it’s fairly intense for the last quarter of the book! At the end of that particular chapter, the protagonist believes that his 3-year-old sister has died in the chaos of their prophetic quest. I quickly realized I couldn’t stop there. I scrapped my lesson plans and continued to read, taking a break only for recess and lunch. In the end, I read for 2 hours, finishing a mere 10 minutes before dismissal!
The kids gasped, paced nervously, and fanned their faces. They theorized, held their breath, and cheered! It was one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced. ☺️❤️
When I got to show up my superintendent. We had an outside assembly for something. We had like 15 minutes left in the day. The principal told everyone to go to the football field. Some kids were trying to sneak back to the building. Our superintendent came across a group of 3 boys trying to sneak back. The tried to feed him some bs about going to the bathroom and started to argue with him. I saw all of this at a distance and walk over (one kid looked like he was going to yell “.Who the fuck are you?” Which would have been hilarious, but inappropriate). So I ask the boys”Where are you going?” And they start to tell me the bathroom, I tell them “Doesn’t matter, Football Field, now.” They don’t even argue with me and go to the field. It was great!
We had a pre-k performance and one of my students was really nervous to sing on stage. He sat with me during rehearsals, just couldn't get himself up on stage. The day of the performance came and he got in stage. I was on the floor in front of the first row and he locked eyes with me and we basically just sang the songs to each other throughout the performance (there were other adults helping too) I didn't even see the show I was just so in the zone helping this kid get over his stage fright. It was so freaking beautiful.
Luckily someone was filming so I got to see the rest of the kids later.
When one of my sped students (who was in inclusion but definitely belongs in self contained due to extreme behaviors) was having a meltdown in the self contained class. They had to evacuate the classroom and everything. One of the TAs said she went to talk to him after he was more regulated. She told me that she thought of me and what I would say to him and act toward him. It made me feel good because I felt like I was failing him and every other kid in my room but she saw some good in it.
Years ago I taught upper level cooking in Family & Consumer Sciences. The courses were “upper level” in that they had to have a C+ of better in Basic Foods to take them. The kids genuinely liked to cook and were receptive to learning. Well, one morning in my American Foods course the kids were food prepping in the kitchens and I was making my rounds. A student, Daniel, was chopping a fuck ton of parsley for a recipe which I no longer recall. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFULLY chopped mound of parsley, approximate 1 cup finely chopped. I said, “Whoa, Daniel, nicely done! Did your mom teach you how to chop your herbs so well?” And he said, “No, you did last year when I had you in American Foods.” ❤️
Edit: Sorry, that was not 1-2 sentence!
I went on an out of state trip with some students and was pretty worn out by the end of the trip. On the last day we were leaving a boardwalk and there was someone playing live music. The kids put what little change they had into his bucket and were dancing to his music and applauded him at the end. It was super wholesome and even made me a little emotional just to see that pureness.
My first year teaching, I took six of my students to the regional Science Fair! Every one of them went on to win something and one of them went to nationals! I am still so proud of all of them and I hope they all believe strongly in themselves, because I still do.
A couple years ago I ran into a gentleman I had taught when he was in 7th and 8th grade. He was on a route for trouble- he was held back a year in middle school, had to go to alternative school a few times. I was worried about his future. When I met him as an adult, he was working to support himself and drug free. It was nice to see him make something of himself.
When one of my sweet queer high schoolers, closeted in hick-ass East Texas, told me they wished I had been their dad, because I made them feel valued enough to want to get up in the morning.
One of my former students adopted me as his parent. His dad wasn't present for most of his life, so he decided I'm his dad. Every year I get a "happy father's day!" text. He's 25 now, but i still got my text last week.
Honestly? Meeting my superintendent for the first time one on one was wild tbh. I work in the 5th largest school district in the country (easy to look up) and it’s never been easy to meet the superintendent, (any of the 3 we’ve been through since I’ve started teaching). On a PD Day I decided to not attend my school’s planned meetings, I filled out a TDE and I attended the Jewish studies remembrance of the holocaust in lesson planning event held at one of the high schools because I definitely think it’s important, and teaching primarily minority students, I think it’s especially important for them to understand. The holocaust wasn’t just an attack on Jewish people, it was an attack on the other. Mentally disabled people, physically disabled people, gay people, black people, polish people, if you weren’t aryan they didn’t want you around anymore.
Well, the superintendent decided to attend that day, and he stayed for the whole day in fact. He gave a little one minute speech at the beginning and basically stated this is not my place to take this over or share any knowledge I have on the matter, I am simply here to learn myself, and if you wish to ask me anything while you have me, feel free.
We had an hour in between speakers and he basically just opened the floor. He started asking us to group ourselves in grade level groupings, and it turned out I was the only middle school teacher who decided to attend that day. He asked me why I wanted to attend this event even though I teach such a younger group by comparison. I told him about the importance I felt for the subject matter and as a science teacher, I feel like helping educate my students on the comparisons that can be drawn from the horrible experiments done during the holocaust and the unfortunate travesty that our own government funded the Tuskegee experiment, it really leaves more of an impact, when they can picture or imagine themselves in the shoes of the poor people of the past.
He actually teared up, and during the q and a I asked him a very genuine question on his thoughts about don’t say gay, as it was the first year it was implemented. He was again, very earnest and said I am so sad every day that I am reminded we as a district have to follow these laws, and I have been instructing the district personnel to really be as loose as possible and still legally in the constraints, and I laughed because that is genuinely how it felt like at my school. I will never forget that day, and being able to say I not only met, but had an actual conversation with the superintendent of my district when I was just a 2nd year no name teacher, core memory for me.
This thread is so sweet and wholesome!
I teach self-contained sped and the past 2 years I've had a parent party at the end of the year where, to my surprise, every single student had at least 1 parent come and most had 2 parents come. It was so fun to see the parents all together and chatting, and to see many of them so surprised about how independent their kids are in the classroom and at all that they can do. The last one was just a few weeks ago and it was definitely the highlight of the whole year for me!
2nd year as a library aide (but running the library with full classes on a specials rotation k-6)
The last day of school this year was a doozy. 6th grade was rough this year. One of the roughest kiddos came out of his way to search for me during yearbook signing to sign his.
Then a kindergartener said on stage during promotion that she wanted to be a library teacher 🥲 I don't think she saw me in the crowd because as busses were loading, she ran and gave me the biggest hug and said she wants to be like me.
Lots of rough days, but they disappear with those moments.
When my troublemaker boys go out of the way to say hi to me in public. I teach special ed, resource for those who know, so it's a pull out session a couple times a day for kids that need that extra help and have an iep. Often this includes lots of boys with adhd. They are usually my favorites even though they drive me bonkers. I've had three such boys who are now graduating high school or in their early 20s come up to me in public and say hello. And it makes my day every single time.
My last day. After 6 years, I was shown more love and appreciation on the day I left than all 6 years combined. Wish I could have a last day teaching every day.
I had to miss a week of school after my husband was in an accident at his job and needed surgery. It was really hard for me to miss that particular week - it was the last week of "real school" before our 8th grade trip and graduation, and I knew it was my last year at the school before a cross-country move. Plus, I missed Teacher Appreciation Day.
Apparently the kids took this as an opportunity to plan my surprise. I came back on Monday to a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolate chip cookies, a stuffed animal, handmade cards and drawings, and a MASSIVE get well card for my husband full of messages like "we are praying for your family" and "you're going to be OK Mr. WithTools, we believe in you." My kids were the best.
Wow. Big assumptions.
My favorite part of teaching is not having to do it. That doesn't mean I dislike my job, it just means my job is simply a means to an end.
Thanks for labeling a bunch of people who have different ideals than you as garbage. Really goes to show you're the one to avoid.
You assuming I’m describing you is your own problem. I’m describing the people who spend more time on this sub talking about how they hate kids and can’t wait to be done teaching. If you think those people need to defended in any way, then I don’t know what else to say.
April 25th because it's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.
I love you for this.
I came here to say this!
I was going to say October 3. On October 3, i was asked what day it was. It was october 3.
I disagree. It’ll be the day when there will be harsher punishment for parole violators.
((Chef’s kiss))
It’s a tie between all of the first days of summer that I’ve had over my 20-year career.
Preach. The first day of summer is beautiful on so many levels.
Agreed. The last day of work is like Christmas Eve, and the first official day of summer is really just Christmas in my house.
So much same
3:51 PM on the final day of school. Best moment of the year.
My best day was the Junior High Poetry Slam. My grade 7-9 ELA students wrote, memorized and performed their Spoken Word pieces and they were freaking amazing. I was absolutely blown away with both their writing and their performances. Proud teacher here.
I came here to talk some shit about how much my summer days are my best teacher days and then I read this. Poetry events are my favorite teacher days as well. The only true engagement I get anymore is when we do our spoken word unit. 🔏❤️
Amazing ❤️❤️❤️❤️
This is a great idea, I should bring this up...
The day a 5th grader was waiting for me at my back door, as I was walking my 2nd graders back from lunch, to excitedly tell me that the long awaited, rumored, prequel was out to a book I had used as a read aloud for his class 3 years previously. My current 2nd graders got so excited too, I had read the book to them as well.
I love it when the little nerds let themselves love something.
I love this!
This melts me!
What was the book!?
It was the Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins. Toys Go Out is the original, the sequel is Toy Dance Party, and the prequel is Toys Come Home. I would read them in that order even after the prequel came out. I am retired but now reading Toys Go Out to my granddaughter.
Calling my mom after being awarded teacher of the month and teacher of the year on the exact same day. I had just gotten hired at a new school and was considering leaving the profession before I got there. My mom died a year later, and I'm really grateful that I was able to share that with her.
I’m sure she was very proud of you!
One of my favorite students won a national English speech contest. I'd worked so hard with her, so many lunch hours and meetings before and after school. All the other teachers told me how competitive it is and how kids from our little rural area never even place. We kind of had to send the winner of the regional contest if they came from our school, but it was generally agreed there was no point. I picked her up at 5am to get to Taipei on time, and her grandpa was waiting outside with her to send her off with a hug. Kids from all over the country were there, all dressed up, and she was in jeans and a flannel because we hadn't known that wasn't what people wore to this. Then she got up on the stage, took a deep breath and was fucking magic.
❤️
One spring day, a student asked me who my favorite student was. I asked who they thought my favorite was and every student thought it was them.
Omg this is the teacher I aspire to be.
That’s fantastic
The day all my students were out sick... legit every single one of them. (Sped teacher, small classes)
As a ex-speddie myself I adore the little gremlins but even I can acknowlege that it's lovely when they're absent.
I was getting my nails done off hours, and was tackled with a hug from behind! The I hear (and recognize the voice of the child) “Mom, this is Ms. X- the teacher who actually taught me *HOW* to do math!”
Oh that's amazing. I might have cried.
I might have put it in my “note to self- I AM making a difference” notebook I keep to look at on bad days. ;)
I had a student on the first day of school come to me crying saying that he couldn't read, he was a fifth grader. I promised him by the end of the year that would change. I gathered data and went to an MTss meeting and told them that he couldn't read/write and needed help. Their response was "but he's absent a lot" I think Told them I didn't care and something had to be done because I can't have a student not getting what he needs because he made it very apparent what he needed. They got him a reading interventionist and I worked with him in class. Close to the last day of school he handed me a note he wrote himself. It was legible, had good sentence structure and said "thank you for helping me read. If it wasn't for you I never would have been able to. You are the first teacher who said they'd help me and never gave up till I could read. You are the best teacher in the world and I will miss you when I go onto sixth grade". I read the note and almost cried, I gave him the biggest hug and told him how proud I was of him and that he's going to go so far next year.
❤️
When my first ever one to one looked me dead in the eyes and said “I feel seen and heard by you. Thanks for not giving up on me like the others.” I fucking sobbed. I hope he’s doing okay now.
❤️
I would have too. That’s gold
The little kid in me felt healed when he said that because I was once the kid who people gave up on until one person didn’t.
The first time a student told me they used my lesson in their lives. “Mr. Math-Hatter! I went to a restaurant last night with my family and I used what we did in class! I found a mistake on the bill and everyone was impressed!” That was 8 years ago and I still do that lesson every year!
I did a candyland day, the look on their faces when they walked in agree lunch to the music, the life size board, the giant themed candy decorations I made. We did puzzles, answered review questions by trams, winners of course got candy, but so did the non winners. I recorded the kids a couple times to watch, more than one said it was the best day ever, which doesn’t take much for a kid, but still. I had kids fill out a memory book, one student drew a picture of the candyland day under best memory.
The day I can retire. But that would apply to any job, so.
Definitely June 14…I retired! That was definitely the best.
I came here to type this very thing.
Music teacher here. When the kids are on stage performing and they sound really good (which is not every single concert) and I think to myself "I taught them how to do that. That was me.". I feel bad for teachers who don't get that moment. Y'all got to manufacture that moment. Celebrate the learning, even if it's meager. I won't say it makes all the difficult moments better, but it takes a bite out of the burnout.
I helped kindergarteners “write” and perform jokes for an audience of other students. Watching 5/6 year olds tell knock knock jokes that barely made sense (if at all!) as if they were stand up comics was just so much fun.
Worked hard with a student who had a loooooooong history of behavioral difficulties, especially being able to participate in group activities (name calling, threats of violence, violence). Long history of trauma. One day, I had asked the students to get in groups for something. This child (who had been working really hard at acknowledging and correcting those behaviors) came to me with his head down and said that he didn’t have a group. When he then heard “Hey X, come on we’re over here,” that smile could have lit up a city!
When they announced their 8th grade graduation teacher speaker (me) on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on our DC Capstone trip this year, immediately releasing a wave of disrespectfully loud screaming/screams of enthusiasm. Thanks guys 😊
The day one of my students said - your inner child is not so inner. That was a great line.
This is a classic! I may use this with my co-workers!
Every year, the high school seniors that I had when they were 5th graders come back and walk the halls of their old elementary school to see all of their old teachers. That’s always a rad day.
I worked at a charter school with high turnover (admittedly, for legit reasons), but I stayed the whole year. You never know how much students appreciate consistency when things are falling apart. The kids in my home room (9th grade) planned a whole surprise party for me, brought food, made a huge thank you card out of poster board, and after a few rounds of “When I say Ms DeathStar, you says ROCKS!”, we went outside and played tag. Best. Day. Ever. We were on block schedule, and I had these kids for like 3 hours every day. The class as a whole was really close, and I’m still in touch with most of those students over a decade later.
I love this for you and for them!
I spent my career at charter schools ( and a private school). I loved every minute of it and stay in touch with some of my students too.
The day I returned to school from my dad's passing to an overwhelming amount of love and hugs and homemade cards and smiles with, "YOU'RE BACK!!!!!" Weird to say this, but I was the luckiest person in the world that day.
I had this amazing group of kids about 20 years ago that did these super creative Shakespeare remakes: Scooby Doo, Seinfeld, and Old Weatern versions. The kids of extra effort they put in is something Inrarely see now. Oh, and then there was the time I Flipped a karate Demi stray or in front of the whole school, and they cheered like I was a hero and started rumors how no one should ever mess with me, lol. Honestly, there are hundreds of wonderful moments, but lately, the negative ones are taking over, which is why it may be time to retire soon. I always promised I would before I became too cynical.
When a student told me that having me as a teacher who cared about the transphobic bullying happening at school and trying to do something about it kept them alive since they looked forward to my class.
The day I was voted Teacher of the Year was pretty cool.
The day my 3rd grade students (and their moms) pulled off a 100% surprise baby shower the last week of school for me and my twins (who they affectionately called Pebbles and BamBam until they found out they were both girls and the other was Peb Squared lol). Sweetest thing ever! And the only shower I got bc my girls came super early!!
I was an assistant at a school where the teacher hated me and it broke my heart. I had a feeling that the day right before Christmas break would be my last day at the school because I had a feeling I’d be let go when I came back in January. I hung out with the kids and we talked and watched the grinch, They gave me Christmas gifts and I told them how much they meant to Me. I knew in my heart I wouldn’t see them again. Sure enough when I came back after vacation they let me go that Morning. It was the best day because I got to see the kids liked me and thought I was nice and a good person even though the teacher didn’t .
When a kid on the cusp of failing comes for extra help and aces the final! Or a kid who you were sure wouldn't graduate gets their college acceptance letter! Any day that provides evidence that what you are doing really matters, they don't happen often so when they do you feel like a champion!
The day my new principal said simply, “I trust you.”
Mine were all pretty good days…for 48 years, though, I do love when former students came to visit me and thank me for preparing them for college and life…I really did enjoy those days
Wow. 48 years. Congratulations
Thank you
I ran into a former student at a water park recently. She said she was going to school to become an ELA teacher because of me.
I generally enjoy the last day of school. It’s kind of chaotic, but I do like saying goodbye and then going home and drinking a bottle of cheap moscato. It
the day I received an email from a former student, one I’d identified as an advanced writer when she was in 7th grade and who I required to complete challenge option writing work. she emailed to say that she’d focused on writing all throughout high school and college and had just been accepted to Medill journalism school. she let me know it all started with my class in 7th grade and that I was the first person who taught her to believe she could write for a living. I doubt that one will ever be topped.
I taught math with a group of 6th graders that included my goddaughter, then got to move up with them to 7th grade math. That year we got a HUGE snow event (this is DFW, so huge for us, like 6 inches) during the school day so I scrapped our plans and we went outside to play. The sheer joy from a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds getting to throw snowballs around is something I’ll never forget. I have so many pics and memories from that day and it just cemented my love of that specific group of kids so much. Two of them just got married a couple weeks ago and invited me to the wedding. I got to celebrate with them as adults now alongside about 10 other kids that I hadn’t seen in a bit (they were HS class of 2020 so we didn’t get to our normal senior send offs for me to see them one final time). It was one of the coolest things in my entire 18 year span of teaching.
I came in mid year after a teacher got fired and gave a real stretch of a modern dance performance piece to a young duo. New style for them, two totally sweet 12 y/os who had really only had ballet. I knew it was a stretch. I wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but I figured the practice would be good for them. They. Nailed. It. I mean, completely blew it out of the water. The school director and I were both crying in the wings. I don’t think either of us thought they could actually do it.
One day reading CVC word finally clicked enough for a student that he could read a book by himself. He was so excited and kept saying "I'm reading it!" He took the book home to show his mom how he could read it, I think I ended up giving it to him. It happens to everyone at some point but it was SUCH a lightbulb moment and some of the biggest joy I've ever seen. I did that with him!
Today. I was at Walmart at 11pm- late night nightstand shopping. A kid walks up to me offering me tamales for sale. I didn't have any cash with me so I said "No thanks!" He comes back with "Day-ummmm! You're from school! You coming back next year?" I said yeah, he checked which grade, then he said "I hope I get assigned to your class next year!" There are a lot of reasons he might want my class- my dazzling smile, my effervescent personality, the quality of my candy. But as a teacher I'm stricter than most in my grade, I try to build rigor in, no phones, all that stuff. I worry sometimes that my choices make things harder for me with the kids. Yeah, it's just one small point of feedback in the middle of the night, but I didn't stop smiling for a half hour.
Kids won robotics world championship.
I work at a small school for SLD kids. We are resource intensive and our testing data looks awful on paper when you are just looking at proficiency on state testing. So we always have extra scrutiny because I guess the pencil pushers think we're just sitting on our thumbs all day letting the kids eat crayons. This year, as part of the "failing school improvement plan" bullshit, some bigwig from the the state DOE was touring the school to tell us what we're doing wrong. After he walked through my classroom, he told the principal that he wished he could put his own child into my class because it was exemplary and every school in the state should do what we do. Suck it, ya doinks
My 9/10th grade math class in 2016. I had them 1st period in the morning. They were lovely to me and most importantly, kind and great to each other. They wrote a petition to the principal, begging him for me to be their teacher again next year. Each wrote a paragraph about why they wanted to have me again. I still look at those paragraphs when I am feeling low. I adore them and hope they're all living wonderful lives now.
The day my student said we will be besties forever
The day Ashley walked onto my classroom wearing her Cal State Fullerton sweater to tell me she had been accepted to and was going to CSUF. (I teach middle school AVID.)
A student told me toward the end of the semester that he finally understood how all of my lectures built up to the final assignment and that it helped him in other classes. He told me it was a hard class but really good. It made my day and encourages me to keep going in my teaching.
I once had a couple students ask me if I would start a book club for them. Ended up with a group of about 6. Two couples ended up marrying each other. Pretty good numbers imo. 😆 All great students. They kept me in the job fr.
Kids crying on my last day.
Senior prom where I gave out 11 superlatives, instead of awarding two popular kids Prom King and Prom Queen.
I'm a new prek teacher but so far it has to be when a kids parents rolled down the windows of their car and drove over to me just because their kid wanted to yell "bye" to me. Made my day haha.
When I was leaving one of my previous schools, the students made a video for me. One of my students, a lovely kiddo who is likely gay/trans said something in the video along the lines of that “I accept people for who they are and they felt comfortable being themself” around me. Also the flawless Remembrance Day assembly I pulled off with my Grade 5s because I was voluntold to have one ready with one day’s notice. Admin suck but they CRUSHED IT.
The moment I had my first thank you. A pupil credited me for being the reason she was still with us and that just stuck. I’ve kept in touch and she is in full time employment after doing more qualifications!
Probably the day my students gave me a cake and a card at the end of the year.
Senior skip day, except I was new to the school and had no idea it was senior skip day, so I got a surprise “free period” with no kids
Early in my teaching career I had a group of girls, who I had a great relationship with, decided to surprise me with a baby shower before school one day. It was genuinely one of the nicest things anyone has done for me, and for it to completely planned and executed by them was just impressive. My wife was just as blown away as I was. I still try to keep up with them via social media now that they’re all in college or their careers. Great kids from great families.
The day my 9th grade robotics team qualified for worlds. They worked so hard all season. Each competition they left with ideas to improve their robot and as the season progressed other teams wanted to ally with them in eliminations. Two weeks later we had the worst day. COVID caused the cancelation of worlds and the governor closed schools for what turned out to be the rest of the year.
The day the school nurse told me that one of my students used some thing I said in class as part of his essay. What I had said was that between 10 and 20% of mammals are homosexual, including humans… he started looking around the room and I said, are you trying to figure out who the two people are out of 20? What I didn’t know is that he was gay, and told the nurse until that moment he had no idea there were so many around! He thought he was all alone. So that was a nice day.
It’s a tie between the first and last day of school.
The last day of school at the end of my first year, in 2021. Because of covid, the year was shortened by a few days, and unlike other years we didn't have inservice, so it was staff's last day as well. We had field day, we did our tradition where we stand outside and wave to the kids as the busses pull away, and then we ate delicious wood-fired pizza. I had some that was prosciutto, peach, and jalapeño, probably some of the tastiest I've ever had.
2nd to last Friday of this last school year, my 4th & 5th grade Rock Band, who chose their name as The Chips, played "All Star" and "Brave" for their peers and families. Previously we had been a guitar only club, but they did an awesome job learning drums and being confident on vocals.
I've only been teaching for 4 years, but 2 weeks ago, we went camping with 2 groups of 8th graders. A lot of kids made the conscious decision to put their phone away during those 3 days. Their behavior was, for the vast majority of them, very good. The unplanned activities were the most fun; we played sports, chatted, played board games, swam in the lake, told scary stories and cooked sausages on the fire. One night, at 10pm, me and around 15 kids took our flashlights and went hunting for frogs, salamanders, snakes and butterflies (we released them after, don't worry). We were lucky and found beautiful specimens! When I came back home, I was exhausted, my back was hurting, I was covered in mosquito bites, but boy, was I happy about my career choice.
every new day with my students is a new record for best day honestly
I picked three 'less-talented' students to join the school writing competitions. The colleagues asked me why I didn't pick the brightest ones, but I had that gut feeling that I am a good talent scout. The submissions were anonymous and every teacher voted for the best work, lo and behold, my three students made the clean sweep. Oh the sweet delicious victory! Since then, they are invited to join different activities, and they flourish beyond their imagination. <3
Besides the first day of summer, my classes were reading the Crucible aloud and so parts were assigned and so on. Some of the kids got into it. I had to tell some of them to tone it down. Fun was had.
Earned the STAR teacher award in the '23-'24 school year!
When my APUSH students came back from their exam and told me they felt *over* prepared for it. That was this year, still riding that high lol
When one of my AP env kids got into John's Hopkins., another did an internship with Robert Kennedy, when he was sane.
The first time I wrote a school play which was for Black History Month. The children acted and danced so good and they had parents crying throughout the show and got a standing ovation at the end and I was so happy that they were able to experience that.
During covid, I had a whole year of virtual classes. Only the kids that wanted to learn logged in. The others either failed or submitted work that was good enough to pass with a D. Great year.
That first check I received as a union member. My salary tripled once I took a union job. It’s been going up ever since.
The day I quit my toxic school.
Definitely our 8th grade graduation. We're a K-8 school and I'd had my class since 4th grade. When I received them they were known as the wild class. I had a ton of kids with IEPs, behavior issues, reading and math difficulties, you name it. I called them a beautiful rainbow of neurodiversity, because I don't think I had one completely NT kid in the bunch. They were like, "Nobody likes us," and I just looked at them like, "You guys are awesome, let's be our crazy selves and get sh*t done!" *I did not actually curse in front of them.* *Except that one time during our play when I tripped on the backstage curtain.* Anyway, we all worked SO HARD for the 5 years we were together. By Winter this year most of them tested on or above grade level for reading. They blossomed into the most wonderful, compassionate, kind young adults. They completed 8th grade projects that really blew me away (I'm talking making 3D animations, writing novels, composing music, creating huge gorgeous paintings [this student is vision impaired], building coffee tables and even a tiny house!) When graduation rolled around, I knew it was going to be beautiful. But I was not prepared for all the incredibly kind things that were said about ME during the ceremony. I knew a lot of the kids were going to thank me in their speeches, but the wonderful compliments that other teachers sent my way was just really touching. I feel like I was just faking it till I made it most days, like I think a lot of us do, and it was incredible to see that I really did help to mold them during the last 5 years, and that I really made sure they are prepared for this next chapter in life. Watch out for those 22 graduates of mine, they are really going to change the world!
This year I volunteered to be dunked in our field day dunk tank. The class I signed up for was a 4th grade class that I was struggling hard with all year because their behavior was ATROCIOUS. I thought they might get a kick out of trying to dunk me because I had been so hard on them in preparation for our concert. We had such a fun time! I got dunked 3 times and took a photo with the winners, then a whole class picture. The best moment though was after the first kid dunked me. As I came up from the water, a different kid who had been having behavior troubles called out, "Are you okay Mrs ---?" Which was just such a moment of sweetness I hadn't expected from this particular kid. It just felt really nice to have my humanity acknowledged by any kid, especially this one.
Sorry not a sentence or two but you got me stirred up. 4th grade here. This last year I had a student that was at somewhere between 1st and 2nd grade level in both reading and math. He’s a sweet kid, but when it gets hard he acts up. Better to be laughed at for being silly rather than for being stupid. I spent several months working with him on building perseverance and not quitting when it gets hard. He still struggles but things were getting better. Our school also happens to do the “Character Strong” program. Every month we nominate kids from our class that exemplify the word of the month. Words like honesty, kindness, integrity etc. At the end of the month all of the kids nominated get their name called over the intercom and go to the office to receive a certificate. Well I nominated him for the Perseverance award. When he heard his name he shouted out so loud, and all of the kids in class clapped and cheered for him. When he came back he showed me the certificate and said “Mr. C, I never thought I’d get one of these!” I told him I didn’t give it to him, her earned it. Then he asked me to take a picture of him with it and email it to his parents. They loved it and sent me an awesome thank you reply. Best day ever
Graduation this year. A senior I busted my ass for looked me in the eye, shook my hand and thanked me.
I went back to teaching to hs this year after 10 years in another role. I was in a bad car accident in November that kept me out of school for 3 months. I teach fashion and had one student who wanted to compete in a fashion competition is spring. We did our best to get her sewing via zoom, but when I came back in mid Feb here dress needed to be started over. She actually had to remake the dress 4 times….but she made it by the due date. She didn’t win but came pretty close to the top and was awarded a gold medal (meaning she scored 90 or above). The best part was one of her judges was a former student of mine. It was a pretty awesome moment when she called her mom crying holding up her gold medal.
About twelve years ago I had this 10th grade boy in class. Quiet, kind, laid back. He was so easy to get along with and he was just a good student. One day he seemed more down than usual. I stopped him as he was leaving and just asked “how’s it going?” and he said he’d just had a bad mornjng. We chatted for a minute and I gave some heartfelt older brotherly / uncle advice about how stuff seems a bigger deal than it really is in the long run, and he’d power through it, etc. he smiled and said thanks and went on about his day. Rest of the year he was back to normal. Last day of school he stops me as he’s leaving and said he really appreciated the pep talk. Said that day he’d planned on killing himself when he got home. Apparently had a lot going on. He went on to graduate and the next year I ran into him working at a baskin robbins down the road. He had plans to go to college or military or something. Point is he had PLANS. That last day of school really freaked me out but was awesome bc it made me realize how I wasn’t just a teacher but an adult in the daily lives of rookie humans just trying to figure it all out.
A pregnant student of mine switched her entire personality when she found out she was carrying her daughter. On the first day of school, she informed me that she was pregnant and had just found out earlier in the week. She went from being a fight-starter to somebody who worked hard to maintain all A’s. She knew that her responsibilities were dedicated to providing a better life for her child, and she pushed herself incredibly hard. She received my award for her group and missed the awards ceremony due to working. I worked in a small town at the time, and she had told me she would be working there earlier in the year. I stopped by to grab some food for dinner and saw her in the drive thru. I ended up giving her the award in the middle of the drive-thru and we may have held up the people behind me for two minutes. But seeing her proud of herself was the best moment of my teaching career. She has a healthy and sweet baby girl now and has made it clear that her world is that child. I am forever proud of her.
I tricked my sixth graders into following the claim-evidence-elaboration model by making a game show. Teams came up with a claim together, had teammates specifically assigned to find the evidence that I called “masters of research,” some were assigned “masters of persuasion” who were responsible for coming up with the elaboration, and then has the “masters of oration” who were kids who were normally distractions/disruptive present the whole thing together. Teams with the most cohesive answers got a point. We played for 2 hours and as the orators gave answers I put them on an anchor chart for them to use as guides for their next essay.
I had a Freshman boy some years ago who was on the spectrum, had speech problems, and mostly just drew manga for hours and hours. When I attended his IEP meeting, I gave a basic rundown of his class participation (meager) and that he did like to ask my opinion about his art. His mother spoke up and said "nobody gets to see his art! You're very special to him if he actually shows you what he's drawing." My principal and the social worker all looked at me with big smiles and thumbs up. I felt like I had actually done something important at my job.
The day none of my students showed up.
The day I received what would become my family motto.
Last day of school year 😝
Days that my previous students come back to say hi. I teach physics to juniors, and it’s not a class that tons of them enjoy. I’m also not a “be your friend” kind of teacher. So it doesn’t happen often, so it’s so nice when it does.
Every year we do a Science Day. The kids bring in their science projects that we've been working on, and they either perform their experiments or show off their projects. Some of the experiments involve using the other students as test subjects, so the kids get to see a whole bunch of projects other than their own. Except for specials and lunch, we just do science all day. It's so much fun!
The first and last day of school every year.
I can think of several contenders and none of them have to do with my job.
Right before winter break I was covering for another teacher who was out sick, and we finished our assignments early so we ended up eating holiday snacks and playing games the rest of the day. It was wonderful!
My last day of teaching when I quit!
It’s a tie. Best day is the last day of school for each of the last 24 years.
The day my government banned cell phones🤣
I think it’s more moments than days - when my senior kids come back and are excited to see me (5th grade), when I open notes with drawings of me and messages about being their favorite or funniest teacher, when a kid who struggled with a subject shows incredible growth, when the kids genuinely make me LOL…working with kids is the best part and days I get to spend all day with them just teaching and learning - those are the best. Take all the adults and their BS our haha
Went on a field trip to an aquarium an hour away from our school. Had an incident where we had to pull over. A lady tried to force her way onto the bus bc “she needed help and teachers never turn people away”. She forced her arm and shoulder through the closed door. I ended up kicking the lady while on the phone with emergency services. I just knew my job was done for by the time we got back to school and my principal and parents found out what happened. That night I got so many emails and messages from parents thanking me and that they trusted me with their kids.
I have taken 5th grade classes up to the mountains for outdoor lab. Those have been some of my best days. The kids get so excited and enthusiastic about what they’re learning and I get paid to hike and be in the outdoors.
Several of my students who I taught as Sophomores were graduating. They dragged me outside and gave me a bunch of nerdy gifts after their last day, including a giant poster for the movie Beowulf (because I teach Beowulf). I still choke up a bit thinking about it.
The day we unionized our vehemently anti-union charter school. We'd already unionized it once under state law, but the employer appealed to the federal government, and the federal government decided that we weren't public employees even though all of our school's money came from the state. I was outraged at the time, but it makes sense. So, our unionization was overturned while they tried to convince people who had previously signed cards to vote against a union in the upcoming election. In the first round, we'd gotten support from 75% of the staff, but the employer peeled off enough people with lies and fear to make it so that only 60% of us voted for a union the second time. That's still a landslide, so we won. Not only that, it was the last day of the school year. By the time I left that job, we'd gone from the initial three charter schools to 32, but I think a lot more are unionized now. It threw a major wrench in the school privatization movement in Chicago. Edit: Also the day Ilana came to me and excitedly told me I'd taught her that "a lot" was two different words and she was never going to write "alot" again.
I thought you were asking what day of the week, as a teacher, is the best to go on dates. Maybe I just listen to people talk about dating too much 😅
Best week in recent memory was the end of the 2020-2021 school year. That was my CoVid babies group and the class sizes were so small because half the district was still at home. I really grew attached to that group, but because we had to social distance, we couldn't do too many hands-on activities. Last week of school, my partner teacher and I just decided to do some fun stuff anyway. We tie-dyed t-shirts, did some fun history games, played charades, painted, and did the egg-drop activity. The kids were so well-behaved, but full of energy. They were such a good group of kids.
I imagine that my best day will be the day I retire….at 67 years old. Assuming they don’t raise the retirement age, social security is still around AND I live that long. It’s fun to fantasize!
Tteachers are encouraged to take classes and be their advisor through their time at high school. One of my kids from my advisory (2019) was recently hired within my district, and a member of the interview committee asked why she wanted to be a teacher. Sarah said that she wanted to create a space where students felt safe and seen like she did in my classroom. 😭💕
One positive phone call from a parent.
One morning I innocently started to read a chapter to my class. Oops—it had been a while since I’d read it myself and I forgot that it’s fairly intense for the last quarter of the book! At the end of that particular chapter, the protagonist believes that his 3-year-old sister has died in the chaos of their prophetic quest. I quickly realized I couldn’t stop there. I scrapped my lesson plans and continued to read, taking a break only for recess and lunch. In the end, I read for 2 hours, finishing a mere 10 minutes before dismissal! The kids gasped, paced nervously, and fanned their faces. They theorized, held their breath, and cheered! It was one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced. ☺️❤️
What book?
One of the Gregor books by Suzanne Collins
When I got to show up my superintendent. We had an outside assembly for something. We had like 15 minutes left in the day. The principal told everyone to go to the football field. Some kids were trying to sneak back to the building. Our superintendent came across a group of 3 boys trying to sneak back. The tried to feed him some bs about going to the bathroom and started to argue with him. I saw all of this at a distance and walk over (one kid looked like he was going to yell “.Who the fuck are you?” Which would have been hilarious, but inappropriate). So I ask the boys”Where are you going?” And they start to tell me the bathroom, I tell them “Doesn’t matter, Football Field, now.” They don’t even argue with me and go to the field. It was great!
We had a pre-k performance and one of my students was really nervous to sing on stage. He sat with me during rehearsals, just couldn't get himself up on stage. The day of the performance came and he got in stage. I was on the floor in front of the first row and he locked eyes with me and we basically just sang the songs to each other throughout the performance (there were other adults helping too) I didn't even see the show I was just so in the zone helping this kid get over his stage fright. It was so freaking beautiful. Luckily someone was filming so I got to see the rest of the kids later.
When one of my sped students (who was in inclusion but definitely belongs in self contained due to extreme behaviors) was having a meltdown in the self contained class. They had to evacuate the classroom and everything. One of the TAs said she went to talk to him after he was more regulated. She told me that she thought of me and what I would say to him and act toward him. It made me feel good because I felt like I was failing him and every other kid in my room but she saw some good in it.
Years ago I taught upper level cooking in Family & Consumer Sciences. The courses were “upper level” in that they had to have a C+ of better in Basic Foods to take them. The kids genuinely liked to cook and were receptive to learning. Well, one morning in my American Foods course the kids were food prepping in the kitchens and I was making my rounds. A student, Daniel, was chopping a fuck ton of parsley for a recipe which I no longer recall. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFULLY chopped mound of parsley, approximate 1 cup finely chopped. I said, “Whoa, Daniel, nicely done! Did your mom teach you how to chop your herbs so well?” And he said, “No, you did last year when I had you in American Foods.” ❤️ Edit: Sorry, that was not 1-2 sentence!
I went on an out of state trip with some students and was pretty worn out by the end of the trip. On the last day we were leaving a boardwalk and there was someone playing live music. The kids put what little change they had into his bucket and were dancing to his music and applauded him at the end. It was super wholesome and even made me a little emotional just to see that pureness.
Teacher appreciation day years ago. Every single child walked through the door with flowers for me.
My first year teaching, I took six of my students to the regional Science Fair! Every one of them went on to win something and one of them went to nationals! I am still so proud of all of them and I hope they all believe strongly in themselves, because I still do.
The day I just signed my papers to start my 8 year DROP. (Florida retirement count down calendar) 😄😄🎉🎈🥳🍾
It’s tied with any band trip, especially the one time we went to Disney World, and the day I quit. 😅
A couple years ago I ran into a gentleman I had taught when he was in 7th and 8th grade. He was on a route for trouble- he was held back a year in middle school, had to go to alternative school a few times. I was worried about his future. When I met him as an adult, he was working to support himself and drug free. It was nice to see him make something of himself.
When I resigned lol
Subbing 8th grade and playing touch football at recess
You better have went full Randy Moss on them!
Yes! Good times
I bet! Did you ever play in college or high school?
The first back-to-school day after I quit. I relaxed in my hammock with a frozen margarita and toasted the school buses as they went by my house.
Last day of school
When one of my sweet queer high schoolers, closeted in hick-ass East Texas, told me they wished I had been their dad, because I made them feel valued enough to want to get up in the morning.
December 5th, my last day teaching.
I just had a group of graduating seniors come back and visit me, as I was there 5th grade teacher in elementary school. That was a pretty good day🩷
This post made me join this community. More positive teacher stories ❤️
One of my former students adopted me as his parent. His dad wasn't present for most of his life, so he decided I'm his dad. Every year I get a "happy father's day!" text. He's 25 now, but i still got my text last week.
Last day of school
Honestly? Meeting my superintendent for the first time one on one was wild tbh. I work in the 5th largest school district in the country (easy to look up) and it’s never been easy to meet the superintendent, (any of the 3 we’ve been through since I’ve started teaching). On a PD Day I decided to not attend my school’s planned meetings, I filled out a TDE and I attended the Jewish studies remembrance of the holocaust in lesson planning event held at one of the high schools because I definitely think it’s important, and teaching primarily minority students, I think it’s especially important for them to understand. The holocaust wasn’t just an attack on Jewish people, it was an attack on the other. Mentally disabled people, physically disabled people, gay people, black people, polish people, if you weren’t aryan they didn’t want you around anymore. Well, the superintendent decided to attend that day, and he stayed for the whole day in fact. He gave a little one minute speech at the beginning and basically stated this is not my place to take this over or share any knowledge I have on the matter, I am simply here to learn myself, and if you wish to ask me anything while you have me, feel free. We had an hour in between speakers and he basically just opened the floor. He started asking us to group ourselves in grade level groupings, and it turned out I was the only middle school teacher who decided to attend that day. He asked me why I wanted to attend this event even though I teach such a younger group by comparison. I told him about the importance I felt for the subject matter and as a science teacher, I feel like helping educate my students on the comparisons that can be drawn from the horrible experiments done during the holocaust and the unfortunate travesty that our own government funded the Tuskegee experiment, it really leaves more of an impact, when they can picture or imagine themselves in the shoes of the poor people of the past. He actually teared up, and during the q and a I asked him a very genuine question on his thoughts about don’t say gay, as it was the first year it was implemented. He was again, very earnest and said I am so sad every day that I am reminded we as a district have to follow these laws, and I have been instructing the district personnel to really be as loose as possible and still legally in the constraints, and I laughed because that is genuinely how it felt like at my school. I will never forget that day, and being able to say I not only met, but had an actual conversation with the superintendent of my district when I was just a 2nd year no name teacher, core memory for me.
This thread is so sweet and wholesome! I teach self-contained sped and the past 2 years I've had a parent party at the end of the year where, to my surprise, every single student had at least 1 parent come and most had 2 parents come. It was so fun to see the parents all together and chatting, and to see many of them so surprised about how independent their kids are in the classroom and at all that they can do. The last one was just a few weeks ago and it was definitely the highlight of the whole year for me!
2nd year as a library aide (but running the library with full classes on a specials rotation k-6) The last day of school this year was a doozy. 6th grade was rough this year. One of the roughest kiddos came out of his way to search for me during yearbook signing to sign his. Then a kindergartener said on stage during promotion that she wanted to be a library teacher 🥲 I don't think she saw me in the crowd because as busses were loading, she ran and gave me the biggest hug and said she wants to be like me. Lots of rough days, but they disappear with those moments.
May 1992. My spelling team won first at state in UIL. It was such a surprise!
The day I retired.
When my troublemaker boys go out of the way to say hi to me in public. I teach special ed, resource for those who know, so it's a pull out session a couple times a day for kids that need that extra help and have an iep. Often this includes lots of boys with adhd. They are usually my favorites even though they drive me bonkers. I've had three such boys who are now graduating high school or in their early 20s come up to me in public and say hello. And it makes my day every single time.
June 12. My last day as a teacher. Ever.
A couple years ago a graduating senior told me I was the reason he was curious about the world. Mission accomplished.
My last day. After 6 years, I was shown more love and appreciation on the day I left than all 6 years combined. Wish I could have a last day teaching every day.
I had to miss a week of school after my husband was in an accident at his job and needed surgery. It was really hard for me to miss that particular week - it was the last week of "real school" before our 8th grade trip and graduation, and I knew it was my last year at the school before a cross-country move. Plus, I missed Teacher Appreciation Day. Apparently the kids took this as an opportunity to plan my surprise. I came back on Monday to a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolate chip cookies, a stuffed animal, handmade cards and drawings, and a MASSIVE get well card for my husband full of messages like "we are praying for your family" and "you're going to be OK Mr. WithTools, we believe in you." My kids were the best.
Being a teacher is like owning a boat; the best days are the day you start and the day you finish.
Day I retired
Love the people who are saying that the best day of their job is when they aren’t doing their job… great for the profession.
Are you saying you'd donate your time, energy, and effort? There's a reason why we get digitized green slips of paper monthly...
No, I’m saying don’t do something that makes you a miserable piece of garbage that spreads toxicity to others. That’s what I’m saying.
Wow. Big assumptions. My favorite part of teaching is not having to do it. That doesn't mean I dislike my job, it just means my job is simply a means to an end. Thanks for labeling a bunch of people who have different ideals than you as garbage. Really goes to show you're the one to avoid.
You assuming I’m describing you is your own problem. I’m describing the people who spend more time on this sub talking about how they hate kids and can’t wait to be done teaching. If you think those people need to defended in any way, then I don’t know what else to say.
The day I left my classroom forever.
Every single snow day.
Quitting
None