On the Friday before the tornado, we had covered tornado safety in our classroom, and my fourth graders made posters about what to do in the case of a storm. I have kept those posters for eight years on a little shelf in my classroom, not knowing what I would ever do with them, but not wanting to part with them either. This week, I parted with a few of them and gave an eloquent impromptu speech through snot and tears in front of my class. I can usually see the emotions coming and brace myself, but this time, I was completely blindsided.
They, the seniors and my current class, got to see me in an emotional light. It's one of those moments I will take with me for many years into retirement, and it's one of the reasons I love my job. Whether I did those kids a noble service or not, I may never know; what I do know is what my classes do for me. They may give me headaches, gray hairs, and bad dreams, but the rewards greatly outweigh it all. |
One of my daughters favorite teachers | Josh was so happy to see you again!! |
I loved him so much!! Definitely one of my favorite teachers I had when I was younger.
You made me cry! This isn’t fair. I definitely did miss you...you’ve definitely made an impact on my life especially with the cave room. I can still see little old Kelly standing by the waterfall talking about how it functioned inside a cave. | After 3rd grade I was really disliking school, but little did I know I had Mr. Hoggatt, I’ve had so many great memories I can still think about in his class. And the fact that he saved our posters for 8 years, just to give them back to us, meant so much. |
mr. hoggett was the BEST