Spring is fraught with mixed emotions

Springtime in our Valley schools brings every emotion one can imagine. Schools are simultaneously preparing for state-mandated testing and graduations and promotion ceremonies. While the prospect of state testing is always a tad daunting, it’s the mixture of looking forward to the change of students in the coming year and having to say goodbye to the students you have grown to know and love for the past 10 months that presents the greatest emotional mix.

After working in our district for five years, I can say without a hint of doubt that our teachers truly care about their students. As I have said in columns past, for our teachers, going the extra mile is the norm and done without cynicism. It’s done routinely.

And it’s done for the right reasons: focusing on what’s best for our students. The amount of time and energy a teacher puts into each student helps to create a bond among our schools, students and their families. It’s a kinship formed by working toward the same goal for 10 months. This time of year, I find myself reflecting on hundreds of conversations in the halls, on the phone and in grocery stores asking myself if I took advantage of each of those opportunities. Of course, I know that most of the time I did the best I could; however, despite the best intentions there were moments that I dropped the ball.

It took me a couple years of teaching to learn that, 1. we are all going to drop the ball at some point, and 2. it’s OK, because this is where the aforementioned bond between school, student and family becomes so important. Truly, it takes a village.

When there is a situation in which I dropped the ball, the community around the student would be there to support both myself and the student. Family members, teachers, administrators and staff members all rallied to support the student. Of course, I always expected to see support form around a student. What caught me off guard, however, was that the same level of support came to me as a teacher.

This bond or kinship is not something to take for granted, it takes hard work by each member: school, student and teacher. It takes months of conversations on the phone, in the classroom, in the halls and in the grocery store. It is the product of hard work. Perhaps what makes it most special is that these relationships are pressure-cooked over the course of the school year, forcing it to develop quickly and intensely.

This time of year, I always find myself with mixed emotions: excited to meet more students, more families, more challenges and opportunities, while at the same time having to say goodbye to those of our current year. It’s a mixture of excitement and loss, and just about every other emotion out there. Let us head into spring being thankful for all we’ve accomplished, let us head to spring with a serious amount of optimism for what lies ahead.

Jeffrey D. Blackburn is program coordinator for math and technology at Mat-Su Central School.