Shouting, chanting, clapping,cheering-- not normal sounds for 7:30 on a Thursday morning. This wasn't just any Thursday morning, either. It was the morning on which the dreaded Math portion of the CRCT had to be completed. Everyone was tuckered out from the first two days of testing, but the fourth and fifth grade teachers stood in the halls greeting and cheering for their students just as they had for the past two days. Something different happened on this morning, though. Students dropped off their backpacks and made their way back into the hallways to help cheer. As each student rounded the corner, their names were chanted, not unlike the cheering that would happen at a football pep rally. Louder and louder, faster and faster. The principal came through with the testing materials; we crossed our fingers that she wouldn't stop this spontaneous outburst. I think she got the same chills I had as she marched through the middle of the mayhem.
As I watched each student walk down the hall, I fought back tears. How could they feel more loved, more supported, more pumped up? Even the big fifth grade boys, the too-cool-for-school boys, allowed small sideways smiles to creep across their faces as they made their way to their classrooms. You know they loved it.
The morning announcements eventally came on, and the cheering became the pledge of allegiance, which then led to the moment of silence. During that moment, I said a quick prayer of thanks for being in the right place at the right time. It made my week. Heck, I think it made my year.
As I watched each student walk down the hall, I fought back tears. How could they feel more loved, more supported, more pumped up? Even the big fifth grade boys, the too-cool-for-school boys, allowed small sideways smiles to creep across their faces as they made their way to their classrooms. You know they loved it.
The morning announcements eventally came on, and the cheering became the pledge of allegiance, which then led to the moment of silence. During that moment, I said a quick prayer of thanks for being in the right place at the right time. It made my week. Heck, I think it made my year.
