Branam!

During my 9-10 block today, I turned into a monster. But not of fury. A monster of giddiness. My assistant principal stuck his head in my door with this "I'm trying to make amends" face, and told me he had a surprise for me. He said something like "I know you would kill me if I didn't bring him to you." And in walked one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE FORMER STUDENTS!

I nearly shrieked with glee-- and I definitely would have if my new kids weren't taking a pre-assessment. This kid made me laugh every single day last year. He's one of those rare humans who is kind of ageless. Acts like a mischievous 5-year-old and a complete grown-up at the same time. A total shit head but knows his limits. He's just awesome. Or maybe he's just like me so we get each other. Who knows.

Anyhow, Branam gave me a huge hug, and my entire class looked at me in a strange kind of shock (what kind of teacher is THAT happy to see a student?). He told me he had really good news, but I was just happy to see a face of someone who got my sense of humor-- that was good enough. But then he told me-- he EXCEEDED on his state science exam! Not passed. Exceeded! And so did his twin brother! I think my face almost fell off I was grinning so much.

"That's incredible! I am so proud of you! Now imagine what you would have accomplished if you actually came to class everyday..."

"Two minutes in and already giving me a hard time," he replied.

Always.

After school he came back and we talked for almost two hours about summer, high school, college, life, family.... and when I went home I couldn't stop smiling. You always hope that you make a difference to kids. They wiggle their way into your heart and you find yourself worrying about them. You hope that they learned something from you-- especially something nonacademic-- something about life. Something about being a good person. About working hard because its worth it. About not giving up even when everything totally sucks.

But you don't always realize how much of a difference they make to you.

I say it all the time, but its true. These kids are my heart. How am I ever going to leave them?