“It was a long while ago that the words God be with you disappeared into the word good-bye, but every now and again some trace of them still glimmers through.” -Frederick Buechner
I forget every year.
I forget that the school year fizzles out nowadays. I forget that students just stop coming to school once testing is over. I forget that I might not get a chance to tell the 8th graders goodbye.
I walked up and down the 8th grade hall today because I remembered, too late, that they would be gone after their promotion ceremony. There was no more time to tell them: I am proud of you. Good luck in high school. I will hold you in my heart. I hugged the ones who were there, but I couldn’t hide my sadness. Another teacher looked at me and said, “Don’t be getting all emotional.” But it was too late.
Perhaps I say this every year, but today I feel as if we said goodbye to a special group of students. It is good to be a teacher in the summer, but, oh, it is hard, too. Because this is the season in which we are left behind while they move on without us. And those shy, proud smiles that come out at the end of the year help erase the memories of defiance and frustration and long days. Pictures of students on my phone can’t replace the way it felt to have them in the library every day. Saying every morning, “What’s up?” Eating lunch at my desk. Asking about my son. Wandering in without a note.
This time of year I remember that the only way to survive being a teacher is to forget what it feels like to let them go on to the next stage of life. We will start all over again in August. But for now, good bye. God be with you.
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6 Comments
I always feel that way about our fifth graders leaving us for Middle School. It’s a bittersweet time. And I didn’t know that good-bye came from “God be with you.” Thanks for that.
You rock. Love this.
That made me all teary. It has been so beautiful to watch you settle into this part of yourself, to see the way you using your gifts makes such a profound difference in the lives of your students, and in turn, a profound difference in you. Love.
The end of any school year bring strong emotions. This year in Wisconsin, our year ended the same week as a failed recall election. In addition to saying goodbye to students, we are saying goodbye to the structure of our profession as we know it. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to care about our students and do as much as we can to help them build their mental and emotional strength.
I remember tears sneaking up on me as a middle school ENL teacher saying goodbye at the end of a year. The everyday moments all lining up together hit me like a train as I hugged them by the door frame. As a lover of language, I can’t believe I had never thought of goodbye stemming from “God be with you”. And that’s really what’s behind the words of parting when you know Jesus. We send them out into the world and trust God to keep after them even when we’re not near.
I read this to my mom last week. We both cried. I felt the same way this year. Cried like a baby during the last week of school.