I had no idea.
No. Idea.
And can someone please tell me how 25 kindergartners, the entire office staff, my student teacher, and my husband can keep this a secret?
It was 9:15 on a Thursday morning and we were sitting on the carpet for calendar in kindergarten. My student teacher was teaching and I was sitting at the back of the carpet with the kids. We’ve had a bit of Spring Fever running through the class lately, and I was helping with crowd control. We’ve been working on Self Control in kindergarten and the morning was going extremely well. The kids were calm and in control of their bodies. Ahhhh. We were off to a good start.
All of a sudden, this woman walks into the room and starts shouting, “Hello everyone!” Ummm, excuse me…. but who are you and why are you disrupting our perfectly calm morning?
Turns out, it was Jill Taylor from our local radio station. Not only that, but she was followed by a parade of people including news cameras and large carts filled with gifts.
To make a long story short, one of the families in my class had nominated me for the Teacher of the Week award that is given by one of the news and radio stations in Seattle. They talked about me. I cried. I had a video camera in my face. Did I mention that I cried? And that there was a video camera? I really just wanted to hide at the back of the room with my friends who were watching from the safety of the corner.
The self control that I was so proud of, was TOTALLY gone. The kids were cheering when they heard they were going to be on TV. As the parent who nominated me was speaking, the kids were completely talking over her and I knew there was no way of getting their attention back. Self control was out the window. (I don’t actually have windows in my classroom, but if I did, self control would have been out the window.)
So, what did we win? To start, they brought a giant check. Yes, it was several feet tall. Do I really take that to the bank to cash it? My hubby wants to take video of my trying to put it into the little tube at the drive thru and then post it on You Tube.
There was a gift card to the local nursery. (BEST gift EVER!)
There was also a gift card for a makeover at a local salon. How cool is that?
To top it off, they brought gift bags for all of the kids and gave us a little party.
I can’t even begin to describe the emotions of that morning. I was totally overwhelmed. I had no idea how they kept it a secret from me. The kids actually told me it was a special day, when I greeted them in the morning, but I said, “I know! It’s a Thursday in Kindergarten and every day in Kindergarten is special!” I was clueless.
You know, there are not many professions where people say, “Thank you for what you do. You’ve made a difference.” Teaching is one of the jobs. I get to make a difference in the lives of kids and their families. I can’t believe how honored I feel that a family would take it so far as to nominate me for something as big as this. That’s pretty amazing!
Thank you so much to my friends, family, coworkers, students and their families for the nomination and congratulations. It was truly a “once in a teaching career” experience!
The Comments
Carol
Sniff, sniff, I was crying just reading this, Becca! Congratulations, and you are so deserving. Teachers are truly our unsung heroes, and should be honored like this more often. I would have cherished a teacher like you for my children when they were young. Actually, I probably would never have wanted them to leave kindergarten….lol!
marty (A Stroll Thru Life)
Congratulations!!!! This is definitely an honor and one well deserved I am sure. Hugs, Marty
Linda
Congratulations! There are some very special teaches and you are one of them!!! thank you for all you do, even tho I don't know you.
Victoria
Awwwww, what a wonderful surprise! Congratulations and I totally think you should let your husband record you trying to deposit a big check:)
Michelle
Congrats! How wonderful that you received recognition! As a teacher myself, I know what a hard job it is!
Emily Thompson
yeah! So exciting!! congrats!
Dixie n Dottie
That is awesome! Good for you! Congratulations! 🙂
http://dixie-n-dottie.blogspot.com/
Crystal
That's awesome!! Congratulations!!!