My Last Day As A Teacher

Today was my last day as a classroom teacher. I stress classroom teacher because I believe we are all teachers in our everyday lives, and because no matter what I do I will always give shiurim and share the joy of learning with others. Anyway, like I said, today was my last day. I've been a teacher in various schools in NJ, NY, Yerushalayim, and FL for 14 years. But this summer (actually 2 weeks from today) my wife Elisheva and I, together with our 3 kids, are moving to Houston, TX to become the Judaic Principal of Beren Academy. This is an amazing opportunity, one which I have been preparing for all these years. I am very excited, and have started this blog to chronicle my journey, both geographic and professional. So why was today my last day as a teacher? I actually taught my last class last week. But as any teacher knows, report cards always loom even after the students are off to summer vacation. So there I was, sitting at my computer typing in my last few comments. And I was thinking about the real point of report card comments. Obviously, a major goal is to give feedback about the student's strengths and weaknesses. This helps the student, the parents, and future teachers. I thought about each of my 8th grade talmidim and wrote appropriate comments that reflected their grade. I was about to finish when I went back and added one last line for each student. I wrote "Good luck in high school. I will always remain your Rebbe and look forward to hearing great things." Because at that moment, as I was putting the final touches on another year of teaching, I reminded myself that you never really stop being a teacher. Like a farmer who does not see the fruits of his labor right away, a teacher sometimes does not see the impact of his efforts until years down the line. I may not see those kids in the room every day anymore, but I will forever be their Rebbe. Not only in the sense that I will always be there for them if they need me. But also in that I will be following their progress with sincere interest and expecting great things from them. So, I guess my 1st reflection as I head off on this new adventure is that although today was my last day as a classroom teacher, I will never stop being a Rebbe. I thank all the hundreds of students whom I have had the priviledge of learning with over the years. And I leave you with the most important lesson I have been trying to teach you all along: I believe in you.