her tree

Friday was my last day of work. The people I work with areso sweet and kind; they gave me a very generous gift card and a beautiful bunch of flowers which are now spread around the house! - I'm not a fan of one big bunch - I prefer to pull them apart and spread the love around!!

Glorious.

Beautiful to wake up to. 


It is a terrific group of people that I work with and in a way it was a bittersweet moment of departure. Many of them are moving on to other schools (not so much a by-product of mobility in ACT schools, as the direct purpose!!) and won't be either in my program next year or even at the school :( So it was a rather sad day knowing that I wouldn't see them there again when I return from maternity leave late next year. I wish them all the very best, wherever they end up. I know I've said it before, but our 'alternative' program is not an easy one. The kids can be hard, as most teenagers can be :)

Their issues, however, go deeper and sometimes more painfully than your average year 10 student. And it takes a pretty special teacher to be able to cope with these issues, as they continually permeate their way into your lessons, your understanding of the student, their behaviour, their outcomes and their attitudes. In a nutshell, it can be pretty full on.

Little did I realise that I was one of those 'special teachers.' My students bought me a tree as their farewell present. A beautiful crabapple. So, on the weekend we planted it. Everyone got involved. (Even me - the foreman!!)

A very muddy hole was dug, which the kids thought was just about the best thing ever!! (Sadly no photos of those - poor foreman skills I know!) There was mud everywhere!! But little hands got in there with plastic shovels and did their bit. As all of our garden beds are pretty much full (thanks to a rather rigorous autumn/winter planting program!!) this baby got pride of place on the lawn. In front of the daggy privacy screen :)

I think of it as her tree, my baby's tree and it really is a pleasant thought. I only wish we had owned our house when the other two were born so that we could have planted something for them. It will be for me, a loving reminder of those students at school.That even when you think you aren't making a difference, when their constant complaining, arguing and whinging is driving you crazy, when they don't work, when they won't work, when they refuse to engage in anything, even then you are still making a difference and who knows, maybe something is even getting through. Some little message of hope. Something that makes them stop and say, hey how can we honour her leaving us and this precious time in her life?

Teenagers - you never know what they're thinking!! One boy, a particularly troubled boy who struggled with suicidal tendencies even wrote on the card that he thought my classes "were the best." Talk about a good recommendation!! I feel sad leaving them before the school year is over, but at the same time I don't think I have the emotional strength to carry them through (and some days that is really what it feels like!!) anymore. Now is the time to focus on her. And I'll alwaly have her tree to remind me of them and the impact we had on each other's lives.

I guess that's why we become teachers :)