When Chad, the All Star Teacher for the Nationals, posted in our Facebook group that he'd be in Florida for family vacation, I knew I'd try to make a trip to Orlando to see him. When it turned out that Paul (from the Red Sox) was also going to be in town for his 10th wedding anniversary, and that David (the Marlin's teacher) was willing to drive the four hours from Miami to see everyone, my mind was totally made up.
I never thought twice about making the trip.
We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at Mall At Millenia. It was awesome to see everyone; we caught up on school this year and life in general. It was like no time had passed! It's funny that just three days spent together over the All Star weekend last summer was all it took to create lifelong friendships. We're looking at planning a big reunion for everyone next summer when the All Star Game is in Miami.
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| Paul, David, me, and Chad - reunited! |
Seeing everyone made me nostalgic for last summer. Some of my favorite moments were meeting Jill Biden, riding in the All Star Parade, and of course, being recognized on the field pre-game.
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| Meeting Dr. Biden! |
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| Getting ready to lead the All Star Parade! |
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| All 30 of us on the field pre-game as Idina Menzel sang "Forever Young." |
Chad asked us how our school years went given that they began right after our big trip. I took a moment to reflect. I think the experience gave me a much-needed shot of adrenaline. I had just finished my 5th year teaching and was on the brink of wondering if I'd be staying in the classroom much longer. I came back from Minnesota refreshed and empowered; I felt like I wanted to make a difference and truly live up to the award I'd been given. I think being named an All Star Teacher really helped me make this year as positive and successful as it was.
I still wish that every teacher out there could receive this kind of recognition; we deserve it, and it's rare. We work to secure the future of the country as a whole by supporting, motivating, and caring for our students...on top of teaching them all that's in the curriculum. I don't mean to toot our own horns or anything, but teachers are pretty amazing.
What is your favorite memory from school?
If you could nominate a teacher (or colleague) for a teaching award, who would you pick?
ABK
Can you believe it's already been a year? See how fast time goes as you get older ;)
ReplyDeleteI had so many good memories in school I'm really not sure I could pick one! I think my fondest memory might be the all-night party held after high school graduation. We were all about to go in different directions and there was so much happiness, hope and optimism flowing through the air that night. It was an incredibly fun time - groups of people that didn't normally bond together came together for one last time and it was a blast.
ReplyDeleteOh, and well, meeting Adam in college also has to be up there in my top moments, haha ;)
If I could nominate any teacher for an award it would be someone who taught for the first time last year. He came to the United States in college to play basketball for our university. He came to the country all by himself which must have been scary. Due to an ACL injury he wasn't able to pursue a professional career in basketball despite having played for the French national team. Now he teaches life skills to middle schoolers and I can't imagine a better person to impart this particular type of knowledge. He's resilient, smart, hard working and a great dad! He came to this country with nothing but a dream and a scholarship and has made a great life here.
What an awesome opportunity to meet up with some of our fellow-all stars!!!! It must have been so much fun! I remember reading those recaps you had and crying tears of joy!!!! :)
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