Dear "I Got It"

Dear "I Got It,"

I've been having a lot of "I really like my job" moments in the last couple days. Which is amazing, considering I just finished a Spring Break in which I had the most perfect, responsibility-free vacation in paradise - and yet, I return to work and find myself appreciating it MORE (instead of wishing I could just be chilling in Hawaii . . . although I DO Think about that from time to time).

Anyway, a prime example of this feeling comes from a moment I had today in class. I have my kids split up into various "stations" around the room - some working on new material, some practicing stuff we've been doing for a bit, the rest working on some "real-life" math problems . . . Back in the day, when I didn't know how to do my job, I wasn't smart enough to split kids up like this, and it was a (mostly) full hour of kids working all on the same thing, struggling, and constantly yelling my name and getting frustrated with the work.

Today, however, it was different. I had this one moment where I was just standing there, watching all these kids do their math. Some working together, some just doing it on their own, but the whole damn class just working away without needing my help. And this wasn't some accelerated class or something - this was one of my classes of kids with more math-issues. And yet - there was this moment when they just didn't need me whatsoever, and I was getting BORED.

That's right - I get BORED when I'm just chilling and the kids are working away. So I go up to this one student, who often asks for help, and she just looks up at me, makes shoo-ing gestures, and says with a cocky grin, "You," I Got It. "You." And she meant it (because when I snuck a peek at her work, she DID have it).

And when that happened, I got knocked with this extreme sense of "yeeeaahhhh." The playfulness and satisfaction with which she said it, combined with confidence and pride - THAT was awesome. Just awesome.

And I've had a lot of those kinds of moments this week. Moments where the kids are all focused and doing their work because they actually know what's going on, and so they don't need to mess with each other out of frustration. And that's when I get to chat with them and joke with them and have random conversations about ridiculous things (today at lunch I was talking to one kid about two of his friends - former students - who had gotten in a CACTUS FIGHT; these are the same kids who toss THROWING STARS at each other for fun - REAL ones). It's great. This is when those first two years of ridiculous days and stress feel worth it . . . And when I remember for sure why I still live in Portland.

Because of those times when a kid tells me, "You." And for those wonderful moments, I thank you, I Got It. Because that's when I end up smiling the biggest.

All Warm and Fuzzy,
CVT

*By the way - NONE of my kids look anything like the kid in the photo, but that's all I could find online that even SLIGHTLY resembled the concept I was thanking in this letter.

**Oh - and don't think I didn't see the comments about ring-tones. And don't think they aren't forthcoming.