Another School-Year-End Reflection

At the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, I spent some time ranting a bit about Michael. The last few weeks of school, he started a countdown to the Summer Break. That also served as my quiet countdown to the day I didn’t have to work with him! The week before the last week, I was ready to scream at him and ask him to get out of my classroom. It took a lot from me not do that. It had been such an ordeal to work with someone who did not do the job he signed up for!

However, Michael did so much outside of the classroom. He partnered with a teacher to raise funds for Terry Fox. He coached flag football. He ran the boys club. He signed up for Jays Care. He accompanied the grade 6s on their 3-day grad trip. He got several shout-outs in the staff weekly. For everyone outside of the classroom, this man was a hero!

As already mentioned here or maybe elsewhere, I felt like a single mom, at work as well, in my classroom. I was doing the job of Michael as well as mine, and there were days I felt like I did a terrible job. Looking back, I still feel like I could have done better if only I had some support from Michael. Of course, it is a moot point now.

So, it was rather strange the way it ended between Michael and me. On the last day of work, the ISP team, including Michael, gifted me chocolates, flowers and an artwork by the students from both the classrooms. I will forever cherish the art. The other 2 did not make any sense for me. Even as I am writing this, the 2-dozen light pink and dark pink roses are withering away, in a vase, on my dining table. Alright, I will take a break from that rant.

So, what was the strange ending? Usually, when the last bell of the school day rang, Michael would take off unless he had the boys club or Jays Care to run. That last day, he had none of those. He wanted to know if I needed a ride. Again, it made no sense as I was trying to clean up and pack up, and I still had stuff everywhere. So, I told him just that and went to the school office to return my keys and other things before the principal left for the day. By the time I got there, she had already left, and I took my time handing off the paperwork to the office administrator.

I was surprised to see Michael still in the classroom when I got back. He looked visibly emotional. He took off his glasses, and I could see tears in his eyes. He had something in his hand, and before he gave it to me, he told me that the previous 2 school years were hard on him and he almost gave up on his job. He proceeded to declare that this school year, he found joy in his job and loved coming to work. He ended by saying that I was the best teacher he worked with. I really wanted to let him know that was only because I did all his work for him, but I stayed quiet. And then, Micheal looked at the object he was holding in his hand, and read what was on it.

 

Sometimes you forget that you are AWESOME. So, this is your reminder.

Then he gave it to me, hugged me, and kissed me on my forehead, and cried some more. I was quite literally left speechless. I weirdly felt guilty for ranting about this man.

Should that one moment in time erase all the frustration and stress I felt for almost 10 months? I am conflicted!