End of the Year Message: Have I Taught Them?

Have I Taught Them?

I know they will forget how to multiply over the summer, and next year’s teacher will show them how to do it all over again. I know they will forget the difference between an adverb and an adjective, how to spell spaghetti, and when the Pilgrims sailed to the New World.

• But have I taught them that it is better to tell me that they did not do their homework last night than to lie?
• Have I taught them that it is better to include someone in a four square game than to tell him he cannot play?
• Have I taught them how to work in groups of four when there are only two red markers and everyone wants the red one?
• Have I taught them how to say “Good Morning” when they pass someone in the hall and “Good-bye” when they leave the room?
• Have I taught them that Jefferson could not live without books, and neither can I?
• Have I taught them how to think when the answer is not right there in the text?
• Have I taught them that imagination really is more important than knowledge?
• Have I taught them that most of Thomas Edison’s experiments did not work the first time either?
• Have I taught them the joy of singing every day?
• Have I taught them the satisfaction you feel when you do your best?
• Have I taught them to laugh, but not at others’ mistakes or when someone’s name is different than your own?
• Have I taught them that learning is lifelong and shown them my French homework?
• Have I taught them that it is OK to make mistakes and shown them my French homework?

If I have taught them these things, then I do not care if they forget when the Pilgrims sailed to the New World or how to spell spaghetti.

~Phillip Done
32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny – Life Lessons from Teaching