Yearbook signatures and other ruminations from the last day of school

Pretty much all the school systems are out by this time, and everyone is gearing up for a three-day weekend. However, before I close the book on the 2010-11 year, let me ruminate and reflect for a bit on a few things. 

Not a giraffe. Not a zebra. 

How many yearbook signatures should a teacher have? As I was asked to sign yearbooks, "yearbooks" (you know what those are), and other random things (see the picture above), I found my creativity waning. There's so many times you can write mush like, "Keep on your path to greatness."

Students who complain about school the most are the ones who cry the hardest on the last day of school. I'm almost ready to call this a law of nature. Without fail, the ones who were bawling were the ones who I could count on for a "I hate this school. I glad I'm not coming back next year." every time I was there. You sure showed us how much you hate us! Speaking of which....

Students who hated me wanted to hug me on the last day. Mind you, I never take the student-hate personally; they're teenagers, so they hate everyone. Still, it was a little weird that the kid who called me out of my name ("B....") wanted to give me hug. Yet weirder, she said she would miss me. Oh-kay...

On a more serious note, though...

I really am going to miss them all, especially the ones that gave me a hard time. I don't know why. Call it insanity. Call it Stockholm Syndrome. Whatever. My theory is that I watched them grow over the year. They came in as seventh graders, and they are leaving as high school freshman. That's a pretty significant jump to me. The ones that gave me a hard time were the ones who had the most growing to do, and they did it.

Even though I was only at the school twice a week, I felt a connection to them and seemingly, they felt one toward me. I invested in them, more than they know, and I got it back in leaps and bounds. Watching them on their honors day on the last day of school made me feel prouder than my own college graduation in December. Crazy, huh?

Days like the last day of school remind me why I chose to do what I do. I can't wait to do it again (by myself!) in the fall!

Have a safe, fun Memorial Day!