You may know me here as Debra VanDeventer, author, blogger, traveler, and sewist. But before all that, I was a teacher for 37 years. This week, I attended a ceremony at Manzanita Elementary in Tucson, where I spent my final three years as a teacher. The students I had as fourth graders are graduating from high school this year!
The entire elementary school body, students and teachers and former teachers lined the hallway to greet the graduates. While waiting for the bus from the high school, energetic staff members entertained their young students with showers of bubbles and upbeat music. These teachers looked incredibly young to me. I had to remind myself that I was 21 when I began teaching.
Eventually the blue capped and gowned graduates appeared and promenaded the hallway, high-fiving students and teachers as they made their way to the auditorium. I had a copy of my class picture from that year tried to see if I could recognize any of my students, but of course I could not. My fourth graders were young adults now. When we gathered in the auditorium and sang the school song, they remembered the words. I choked back tears.
At the reception in the library, I had a chance greet several of my students, and close up, I recognized them in a smile, or the eyes, or the spark of enthusiasm as they told of their plans for the future. We’d spent 180 days together in a classroom just down the hall. I was honored to have been a small part of their journey. Soon they’d be graduated: passing from one stage of experience to the next.
I miss it sometimes. Being a part of something bigger than myself, the energy, the excitement, the possibilities each new year brought . I did not take my position lightly, and my years as a teacher defined a major part of my life. Yet, it occurs to my that I’ve graduated as well. Like my former fourth graders, I’ve taken all the learning and experiences that have made up my life to this point and moved to the next stage.
You may know me here as Debra VanDeventer, author blogger, traveler, and sewist. But before that, I was honored and proud to be Mrs. VanDeventer, teacher.
Threads of Thought
It’s that time of year. Do you have a graduate in your family this year?
What graduation memories do you have?
To read more, you can find my books , OUT OF THE CRAYON BOX: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement and Life, and UNTIL ITLAY: A Traveler’s Memoir on my author’s page! Click here!
Congratulations Deb. I’m sure you were an inspiration to your students over all those years of your service. Teachers are our most valuable citizens and impact the futures of our children. Your guidance has inspired them in ways big and small that you won’t even know.
Thanks for your kind words Diana. It’s funny, when I retired seven years ago, I had mixed emotions. I was worn out (as teachers always are at the end of a school year), I was sad, but I knew it was time for me to “graduate.” But those years will always be part of me. In so many ways my experiences in the classroom are part of who I am today.
What an endearing recognition of the past and today. Thank you Debra.
It touched my heart
Thanks for sharing this. You have touched the lives of sooo many people…including mine.
Thank you so much. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to work with many amazing teachers, administrators, students and parents. It has shaped the person I am today.
Well written Deb! As usual, your words went right to my heart. ❤️ Wish I could have been at Manzanita as well, to celebrate our students and to visit again with all my old friends.
We missed you! Many happy memories!
Congrats, Deb!
Keep up the great work. Just for fun, I wanted to share a “teachable moment” story with you. When my son was in high school a young woman asked him to the prom. She was cute, very smart, and on the gymnastics team. He basically put her on hold for a few weeks until he heard back from a pretty, popular and rather buxom cheerleader, who eventually accepted his offer. The first girl then discovers why he declined her offer, taps him on the shoulder one day when he was at his locker and says, “So….you were just stringing me along, huh? I was not your plan B!” Thwack!! She slapped his face and walked off, which created quite the spectacle that was widely noticed.
He got no sympathy from this Mom for his sore cheek and bruised ego 😁. In fact, I told him to apologize to her, and he did. She is now a successful attorney. I’ve often teased him about choosing the wrong gal. lol!
Interesting little footnote – there was a female teacher whom he knew well who was in the near vicinity when it happened. She walked by in the immediate aftermath, while he was standing there alone, rubbing his cheek and feeling quite embarrassed. She simply stopped for a moment, smiled and said something like, “Don’t worry, Mark…you’ll work through it. And I’m certain that your cheek will fully recover in a few more minutes”, after which she chuckled a bit, patted him on the back and then departed. I thought that was classy. It showed confidence in him to fix things with the young woman while diffusing the tension, and helping him to navigate what had to be a traumatic event for a young man, through humor and warmth. I love the sisterhood component there as well, since the teacher deferred to the girl’s judgement that a slap was fully warranted for this transgression, without the teacher knowing the details. We women have to stick together 😁
Now that’s a good story! Thanks for sharing!