A Day Well Lived: Giving Thanks in Each Moment of a Teacher's Day

A day in the life of a Catholic school teacher starts early and it ends late. From before the sun rises to well after it sets, we work to shake off the stress and the tiredness as we give everything we have for our students. As Thanksgiving approaches, though, we are offered an opportunity to remember to give thanks, and remember that each and every moment of our days is another chance to be thankful for the blessings we constantly see around us. Let me walk you through one of those days and show you just what I have to be thankful for.

5:45 AM: Waking up is the most difficult part of the day; it takes all the energy you can muster just to get out of bed. The dark morning makes a convincing case for you to press snooze, but as soon as your eyes shut, you're reminded of the resources you'll need to print for the day's lesson, the stack of papers still waiting to be graded, and the mountain of letters of recommendations due soon. So, any chance of sleep is gone and the day begins.

6:30 AM: If the early drive to school wasn't evidence enough, the empty faculty parking lot will confirm that most sane teachers are still in bed. Grabbing my bags and coffee cup, I walk towards my classroom, shaking off the sleepiness with each step. As I open the door to my home away from home, I'm instantly reminded of my "Things to Do" list and get right on it.

8:00 AM: Just as I begin to feel overwhelmed with life, Lizette Cantu, one of my English students from last year, walks into my classroom. Sure, there are 30 minutes before first period. Yes, I still have tons to do. No, it won't get done. But that's okay because Lizette reminds me of myself. She is a walking and talking reminder of why I teach.

So, when she walks in, I naturally set aside everything and just listen. Sometimes, she talks about the stress of school, and other times she talks about life and her place in it. I try my best to answer her questions, and while I realize that I may be entertaining the same question, I rise to the occasion and am wholly present for her then.

8:30-11:10 AM: As Lizette gets ready to leave for class, my students trickle in, shaking off the same sleepiness I had about two hours ago. At times, I am amazed at how quickly I can switch modes between previous and current students. Then again, Jose's daily joke of forgetting his materials is trigger enough to return to teacher mode. "What? We needed our book today? I'm just kidding!" And, just like that, I'm the English 11 teacher for the next three periods.

Before noon each day, I see about 60 students, each with their individual personalities. I once thought it impossible to jump from class to class and still be able to treat each period as its own entity. Now, I'm surprised to see that I have surpassed that expectation and am now able to jump from student to student, adapting to each of their needs. It truly is the best gift that I have been granted.

11:10 AM-12:05 PM: After three back-to-back periods, I finally get a moment to catch my breath. Just as I start pulling up my list of things to do, Kelly Sosa walks in and shares her usual greeting. Strolling in with a great smile, she brings light to the middle of my hectic day. She always makes sure to remind me that I'm going to miss her when she graduates—and she's right.

As she leaves, I pull out my "to-do" list and continue on with my work. Suddenly, the exhaustion that had come over me at the end of the third period was washed away by Kelly's presence. I remember that my time with my students is limited, and I have to make the most of it.

12:05-12:40 PM: I was given the very special opportunity to serve lunch during our school's lunch hour in exchange for a free lunch. It's a pretty sweet deal for many reasons. For starters, I have the chance to mingle with the lunch ladies. In those 20 minutes of serving lunch, I take off my teacher hat and experience a small piece of my home. We have casual conversation in Spanish; they ask about my day, my family, and overall current state. I'm not Ms. Ramos; I'm Chelsey.

Secondly, I get to see my students outside of the classroom, eagerly fighting to get the last hamburger or french fries. Each of them smiles and says, "Gracias, Ms. Ramos." Although it may be entirely out of the context of my classroom, it is still nice to hear my students utter these words.

12:45-1:35 PM: Before ACE, I was absolutely certain that I could never teach middle school. I believed this to my very core. When I learned at the beginning of the year that I would be teaching 7th grade Language Arts, I got a pretty sick feeling in my stomach. Me, a 7th grade teacher? What about all of the procedures that I never learned for middle school? What about the exceptionalities that I did not account for at the middle school level?

It's safe to say that the first month was a brutal learning curve. I was convinced that my previous notions were spot on. But, somewhere between mid-September and the end of October, I fell in love with my 7th grade classes. I realized that they were not quite as jaded as my 11th graders, and they enjoyed things such as "Freeze Frame" and competing to hand in their papers faster than the previous class. They are everything I never knew I needed.

1:40-2:30 PM: Alas, the second planning period of my day. As I leave the middle division to head towards my classroom, I see my students from last year walking towards their classes. They stop and half-jokingly and half-seriously remind me that they absolutely cannot wait until I submit their letters of recommendation to their portfolios online. More than anything, they make sure to share how much they miss my class. While it's hard to imagine that after hearing so much of their whining last year, I now realize that it's only after the fact that students appreciate their teachers and all of their hard work. So, I let them say it and revel in those moments for as long as possible. Once I get back into my classroom, I continue grading, lesson planning, and emailing. I chip away at the work one task at a time.

2:35-3:25 PM: Seventh period brings its own challenge of the day. Both the students and I are exhausted, yet we all understand that we have one period left to get through before the end of the day, and so we try our best. I teach and they learn. Almost in solidarity, my students pay attention and try to fulfill the assignments effectively and efficiently. Every now and then, the tiredness of the day will overcome us and very little can be done but to literally cheer each other on until the final bell.

3:25-Bedtime: There is no telling what goes on after school. Sometimes, students come in for tutoring, which is both rewarding and challenging. It allows for one-on-one time with the students, but it also forces me to come up with a new way to teach the material to an already struggling student. Other times, no students will come and I sit for the remainder of the tutoring period, thinking of all that went on throughout the day. I mentally make a list of the pros and cons; evaluate my performance as a teacher, mentor, colleague, and overall person; and add to the list of things to do.

Depending on when I want to call it a day, I stay in my classroom planning my next lesson. Then, I finally go home and I am warmly welcomed by all of my community. We share our most memorable moments and most pressing concerns. We are sources of comfort and reassurance for one another, walking the path of ACE teachers together. And, after everything is said and done, we continue to work, grading, lesson planning, and completing assignments together.

Each day brings its own challenges and rewards, but as I slowly make my way through the year, I look back each week and see how much I've grown as a teacher, community member, and person. Most of all, I rejoice in recognizing the transformation of my past and current students in the short time that I've known them. That in itself is the greatest reward, and it completely overshadows whatever challenges may have occurred along the way. A day in the life of an ACE teacher is a day well lived.