Something I have always appreciated—and continue to hold dear about St. Andrew’s—is how much my colleagues and the students show gratitude and support for one another in various ways, from observing and learning from one another’s teaching, to little comments students make to show their appreciation for those who teach them.
To highlight these little joys, I will be asking each grade over the next several months, starting with 5th, to take a moment and share why they are grateful for their teachers.
This month, the 5th graders’ reflections are earnestly heartwarming and a true catalogue of unabashed gratitude, as the poet Ross Gay would say. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have, and as another testament to shared gratitude, I’d like to thank Dr. Foley for his thoughts giving life to this idea!
“I really appreciate Mrs. Taylor because she’s very forgiving and can relate to things that we are going through. She makes learning fun by giving us projects like making computer comics on Pix-ton and doing some fold-able things . She really knows how to treat kids with work in a fun way. I also really like Mrs. King because she always doesn’t put a lot of pressure on us when we are nervous or scared. And she doesn’t give like melt your brain kind of work or make it too easy. She’s very understanding and lets us do fun things.”
“I like Mr. Lowe because he brings an element of humor and cleverness into his class. He is always singing or doing funny voices.”
“I love Mrs. King. She is an outgoing, kind, and loving person. I love her class too and her energy. I love her class because she makes good use of the class time and makes the work hard but makes it seem easy and nothing to worry about.”
“I appreciate Mrs. Bernhardt very much because she is very sweet and kind.” “Mrs. Bernhardt brings brightness to St. Andrews. I am super grateful that she is in my life.”
“I really appreciate Mrs. Ambriz because she goes out of her way to make Spanish fun. Also she is kind, sweet, and understanding. I’m really grateful for her.”
“Mrs. Watt gives us fun activities to do, especially with instruments, while still teaching us new things every day. She also teaches us funky music, like Mi Gallo and Hey, Ho, Nobody Home. We got to sing them in rounds as a class and it sounded SO COOL! For example, about five people would be singing “Hey, ho, nobody home,” over and over again, while another group of about five people would sing “I said hey!” over and over again. In result, the background music would be: “‘I said hey!’, ho, nobody home.” Another group of five people would sing the four lines of the song, and then the remaining five people would sing the four lines of the song, but starting a little after the first group. Music is always so fun!”
“I also appreciate Ms. Bernhardt because she makes science really fun and exciting.”
“I really appreciate Mrs. King. She is so calm and kind and is great for when you need some help. I love the books she picks out for us to read, and we always have a great time in her class.”
“I appreciate Mrs. Ambriz because she is always willing to help us get better In Spanish and because she always plans fun activities for us to do every day.”
“Ms. Taylor makes learning fun, and she is kind. She also disguises the learning to make it fun, and we also do a lot of all hands on deck projects, and that is what I think makes her a unique and a kind person.”
“I appreciate Mrs. Bernhardt because she lets us know when we have missing work. I also appreciate Mrs. Runnels because she helps us organize the space around us.”
“Mrs. King makes reading fun, and I love the conversations we are having about The City of Ember. She is also very sweet and very welcoming. I am so glad she is my advisor.”
“I love Ms. Taylor as a teacher because she will go out of her way to help a student. She is very kind and never makes me feel pressured. She has amazing and fun games to play for strategies to learn a topic! I love all my teachers, but Ms.Taylor stands out!”
“I like Mr. Lowe because he makes math fun and he sings a lot!”
“I think Mrs. Bernhardt really teaches well. I appreciate Mrs. Bernhardt for being our advisory teacher. Thank you Mrs. Bernhardt!”
“I appreciate Ms. Taylor because she is really kind and cares for everyone. She also makes learning history seem like an adventure.”
It’s easy to forget, as Esperanza says in The House on Mango Street, our “reason for being.” But when we take a moment to enjoy the little things, like these comments from the students, as Esperanza says, they help us “to keep keeping.”