Post by Adam Hopkins: Adam is in his first year of teaching Spanish at Bettendorf High School. You can follow Adam on Twitter @AdamHopkins1988
3:15-3:20. The first five minutes are always the
toughest. Each day my students countdown
the waning seconds of the day and rush out as the bell sounds throughout the
school. I am left alone in a room where
the after effects of 75 students can be seen from unorganized desks, paper on
the floor, and drawings on the board. I
am left looking around contemplating exactly what just happened over the past
eight hours, feeling like I survived a 12 round grudge match. It’s during this time I self-reflect and
question how my day went: Did I use my time wisely? Was today’s lesson beneficial? Did my students enjoy being there? Each of these questions always runs through
my head while coming to different conclusions depending on the day. Some days go exactly as planned while others
seem to be utter chaos. Being a
self-perfectionist, I can easily get down on myself and question my ability if
I’m making a difference.
Then the students start to trickle in. One by one, they come in for different
reasons: for reassessment, to make-up a quiz, to clarify a concept, or to
simply say hello despite seeing me three hours earlier. It’s a time that has been adopted as the
“Spanish Fiesta Party.” (Yes, as a
Spanish teacher, I understand the redundancy of the name). Some have embraced it, asking if they can
come to the fiesta party after school to take a quiz while with others I use
the name/idea to put a smile on the face of a student who truly does not want
to be on campus past 3:16. Do I prefer to stay at school until 5 every night? No. But that extra hour and half each day has
made me realize I am doing something right.
I enjoy students coming in caring about their grades and putting their
best effort forward whether it is A+ or C- work. What I do enjoy is when students start to
stay an extra 30 minutes to talk about their interests or my interests as we
trade opinions on video games, music, and sports.
As a teacher, my friends know how late I tend to
stay at work or that I come in on the weekends to get things ready. They know of my frustrations not being able
to leave work at work or my buttons being pushed one too many times and they
ask me if it is all worth it. My
response is always yes. Of course I have
those difficult days where I question my sanity but the connections I have made
with students here at BHS trump any difficulty that I have encountered. The hardest part of having to leave my last
school was not the building, administration, or co-workers. It was leaving the connections that I had
made with the students. This is what
ultimately makes me want to come in every day.
I love having students being comfortable to open up and be their selves
to make a classroom environment worth coming to each day.
As my first year comes to an end at BHS, I am
excited for the future. Watching
students grow both academically as well as socially is something I cannot put a
monetary value on. As long as I continue
to watch students grow and succeed, my passion for being in the classroom will
continue to strengthen. My students push
me to be a better teacher and person even if they do not realize it. My students are the reason why I can so
passionately defend my career choice so when someone asks me if I truly enjoy
being a teacher, I can, without a doubt, say yes.