A "Neat-O" moment for me....

So today I took 98 7th and 8th grade students to see the high school students perform "Into the Woods".

It was a major stress at first since I had known about the musical and had been invited 2 weeks previous to come see it with my chorus students, but had only been approved to go by administration this past Wednesday. That left me with a serious time crunch as I needed to get field trip permission forms copied, sent out and back by Thursday if the students wanted to go. I also had to deal with the cafeteria, the other teachers, the administration, and find out who was going to be watching my 6th grade students while I was out.

Major stress aside, I woke up this morning having the first great night of sleep that I'd had in the past week, and was ready to go! So as I was gathering all the students and threatening them to make sure they behaved as civilized students, I quickly settled myself into a chair to watch the show.

Right off the bat, I started reminiscing as I saw previous students that I had come onto the stage and take the show away with their talent. I found myself thinking about how each student up there had played a part in my life. "Jack" was a nerdy little kid in class, very brilliant, very talented both vocally, and instrumentally. He used to get on my nerves because of his extreme wit. "Rapunzel"....wow....what a student. She was always so quiet. I always had a hard time hearing her voice ring out in a section. I heard her many times by herself, but often wondered why she never sang out in class....and to listen to all the glistening high notes that she was blaring out was incredible! "Little Red Riding Hood" was always concerning me in her middle school career....she had a severe thing for boys and I often found myself praying that she would keep smart about them. The "Spirit/Baker's Dad"...I had to write him up for horseplaying which ended up with him breaking his cousin's arm by accident....what a wild ride with THOSE parents! I didn't even recognize him with the costume on....but once it was off, it was him....a whole 3 feet taller and deep voice, (on pitch too!). "Cinderella", she was special to me as well. She had travelled to hear her best friend sing with the NC Honor's Chorus even though she didn't make the cut with her friend. I taught her piano....she played for me for one song in December. "Grandmother" was a very special student. I had to treat her very differently than most students in chorus. She had a knack for throwing mood swings as if she were switching her hair from one side to the other. I had many conversations with her mom that included the word, "attitude". She ran down the hall, as most of the others did as well, and threw her arms around my neck and told me that she loved me and missed me.....I think that surprised me most of all.

There are several others that are included in this group....but those were the ones that, as I look back on this day, will treasure seeing again for a long, long time.

These students that I was so hard on seem to have grown into beautiful and maturing, not alltogether mature, young adults. It seems that even though I was so hard on them, that they actually may have been affected by what I was trying to teach them the short time that I had them.

Today was a very good day!