So, as eager as I have been to get out of CMS, the actual parting is somewhat bittersweet. Not because I will miss the district, but because I will really and truly miss my students and my mentor. CMS has put me through some really terrible things, but my students have been my raison d'être of teaching. Don't get me wrong- they can be monsters sometimes, but they are my monsters, and I'm their bruja.
I have a very close relationship with my students- not a friendship, per say- but a rapport. My students like me and they know that they can trust me. They understand that even though I may reprimand them or assign work they don't like to do, it's all with their best interests at heart. They understand that I am here every day because I care about them and their futures. As a result, we have a mutual respect and get along very well- it all translates to a wonderfully laid-back classroom atmosphere. Our ongoing joke is that I call them my monsters, and they say I'm their bruja, which means "witch" in Spanish.
Of course, all of this made it super difficult to explain to them why I'm leaving. I hope they understand (they say they do) that I love each one of them, and my decision to leave has nothing to do with them. It has to do with finding a place where I can truly give my best to the staff and the students of the school that I'm working at. Here in CMS, I've been split between different schools for 2 out of the 3 years I have been here. Being split makes it nearly impossible to fully serve the staff and students of either school.
I'm looking forward to greener pastures in teaching, and the better life in a new city that will go with it. But I sincerely hope that each student I've encountered here will be the better for it. I hope I've touched each one in a positive way that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
And I hope I'll continue to do it in Maryland, too.
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