To "My" Kids,
I'm not your teacher, or your parent, or even your distant relative. I see you all only for a few hours each day. I don't get to spend nearly as much one-on-one time with each of you as I would like, and some days I can only exchange a few words with you before I head off to the group I'm working with during the day. Despite all this, I care deeply for each and every one of you. Your happiness and growth matter to me, even if I don't meet with your parents for conferences or fill out your report cards. Each of you is special, unique, and wonderful, and I recognize this even if I only spend half the day with you. I may just be a teacher's aide, but I still lovingly refer to you as one of "my" kids.
I promise to be patient with you all, even when I feel like losing my cool. I promise to take a deep breath and smile, and put myself in your shoes. I promise not to snap or yell at you, or to discipline too sternly. I can't promise that discipline won't happen, but I can promise it will never be harsher than necessary. I discipline because I care about each of you, and I want you to grow into responsible, conscientious adults.
I promise to love each of you, even when you're "in trouble." Even when you don't follow classroom expectations, or get in fights, or don't listen, I will love each of you. Each of you brings something special to the classroom, whether it be your unique sense of humor or your kindness to others. You are not "bad" kids, even when you pick fights or choose not to listen. Each of you is a great kid that made a not-so-great choice in that instance.
I promise to help you in every way I can, inside or outside of school. School isn't just a place to learn what polygons are or how to diagram a sentence. School is a place where you learn to grow as a person, where you learn how to treat others with respect and kindness, where you learn the difference between right and wrong. I promise to walk you through a tough word problem during math, or to discuss a tough life problem that's going on outside of school. I know that it's nearly impossible for you to leave your other problems at the door when you walk into the school building, and I promise to help you through those problems if need be, even if they don't involve addition or subtraction.
There are no bad days with you all. There are challenging days, or tiring days, but each of you bring me joy and laughter, and days are not bad with you all in my life. Some days I'm so exhausted I come home and take a three hour nap, but I love working with you all. In the short time I've been working with each of you, you've made me smile bigger, laugh harder, and love better. I proudly hang the pictures you color for me on the walls in my room, and I cherish every hug I receive from you all. Not many people can say they love their job, but each of you make me truly love my job. Most of all, I promise to always be there for each of and every one of you. Thank you for making my job so special.
Love always,
Ms. Kelly
