You made it. It bears repeating as a phrase right at this very minute. Maybe your one hundred eighty days are through. Maybe you still have 10 more days. Maybe your students are about to explode out of their seats right at this very minute.
You made it.
You made it through the tantrums, the tears, the suspensions, and the drama. You dealt with redirecting behaviors, you helped support students when the things they had to say were hard.
You made it.
You made it through watching students try things they never thought they would, ignoring the fact of success or failure. You saw classmates be friendly if not make themselves to be true friends. You saw a glimmer of kindness from a student you didn’t think could possibly be kind at all.
You made it.
You saw a student ask a girl to dance and she said, ‘Yes’. You saw a student beat a record of something they’ve been doing for years and they finally got a little bit better. You saw a student share a talent that only you had known about before.
You made it.
You didn’t know what to really expect this year, but you did projects with students, you laughed with students, you went to assemblies and rallies, you went to concerts and field trips. You did that thing you were always too scared to try when you were a student, but you had to show a student how to do it anyway.
You made it.
You made professional relationships with teachers, new paraeducators, secretaries, support staff, consolers, and administrators.
You had the front row seat to an amazing year. You have a few months off. And whether you’re heading into Extended School Year (ESY), trainings, some time for yourself and your family, or on to another part of your life, it has been a year that you’ll never forget. And we thank you for your work.
Celebrate! You made it!
Before we sign off for the year, ParaEducate would like to thank you, our readers, whether you faithfully read every week or you’re just catching up in the middle of summer, your comments, Tweets, Likes, and pluses have mattered and reaffirmed that we will be back for a third year of blogging starting August 13th. If you have any questions, suggestions, or requests for blogs next year, please contact us. And stay tuned for a mid-summer blog that will be announced!
ParaEducate will return August 13th with regular blog posts. Do you have any comments about this week’s blog? Do you have a question for us? ParaEducate just joined Pinterst! Find ParaEducate online here, here, here and here. ParaEducate is company interested in providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published weekly during the academic school year on Thursdays, unless a holiday. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
