To the students of 328,

I would like to thank you for giving me the greatest experience of my life thus far. For the first time, I was able to be a “real” high school teacher. Though I wasn’t perfect, every day with you all was. You taught me lessons about myself. You helped me make decisions about what I wanted my own future classes to look like. You made me think critically about my purpose as a teacher and my motivation to head a classroom. You taught me more about myself than you did about your individual learning and interests outside of the classroom. Above all, you taught me that I can do it, and I hope that I instilled that same belief in each and every one of you.

To my A block: you taught me that mornings can be hard, but they are not hopeless. There is inevitably a class that starts the day and I apologize that you were mine. However, you fought through your sleepy mornings and your lack of motivation to put forth your best efforts. In your persuasive speeches I finally heard your voices. You have important things to share, individual opinions, and unique interests. Use this to your advantage.

The bad boys of B block. You challenged me from the start. Unlike A block, I heard your voices right away: loud and clear. You are 17 boys and 4 girls strong and you taught me how to balance discipline and grit. That is, hard work on my end and yours. I appreciate your patience with me and I hope that you will retain all that you learned in this class for the remainder of the year, as well as your other subjects. You are all capable of being successful even if it takes multiple tries.

C block, you were the direct opposite of your B block parallel. I searched for your voices. I searched hard for your voices, and when I finally found them I was impressed. You all have unique and extraordinary talents. Never let anyone silence what you have to say. I want you to go on to do important things because you are more than capable. Do not simply meet expectations, exceed them.

The crazy crew that makes up D block, thank you for treating me with the utmost respect from the first day I entered your classroom. Thank you for looking to me for answers and insight on your work, and trusting my knowledge to contribute to your own. You were the first class to place me into the role of teacher- and the only class that was never reluctant to be taught. Though you did not all agree with one another, you all managed to come together and listen respectfully to the subject material. What I respect most about this class is that you stand up for what you believe in, and you should never lose this sense: I only hope that you are always accepting to the ideas of others. Whether it was a false sense, or maybe that you thought I was cool, you made me feel like my presence as a teacher mattered to you. Your presence as students mattered to me.

Finally the superior F block. Though you were AP seniors and probably assumed that you knew just as much as I did about the English language, I am glad you finally warmed up to me. Though I didn’t have to take responsibility for your learning, I thoroughly enjoyed every tangent, video, debate, and fun-filled class. I’m not sure what you’ve learned about Othello but I hope if nothing else you’ve learned that you will succeed in whatever you choose to do. You can each talk your way out of trouble and off topic. When you were productive, I enjoyed watching you think and share your ideas with one-another. You made me laugh and you reminded me that though teaching is serious work, sometimes there is serious play involved, too.

To all five blocks, to the students of 328, no matter if I end up teaching for one year or for 50 years, you will always be my first “class” of students. You nicknamed me Ms. J, and in return you let me take your English class by storm this fall. If you remember nothing else from our time together, I hope that you have learned to take initiative for your own learning. I have considered you my own students for the past three months, and I expect nothing less from my own students. You are only granted so much time in formal classrooms and you should absorb all that they have to offer. My only regret is not having a longer time with you. My “thanks” may fall on deaf ears, but you have meant more to me than you all know, and I will forever be thankful for the experience to teach you, talk to you, learn about you, and learn about myself in turn.

With love,

Ms. Jordan