69ý

Teaching Profession

Tiny Teaching Stories: ‘A Real Bird in My Class’

By Catherine Gewertz — June 09, 2020 2 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The Powerful Moments of Your Lives, Distilled

We invite teachers to share their triumphs and frustrations, the hilarious or absurd moments of their lives, in no more than 100 words.

For more Tiny Teaching Stories, click here.

To submit your own story, click here.

BRIC ARCHIVE

‘A Real Bird in My Class’

BRIC ARCHIVE

I was teaching a Zoom 4th grade art class how to draw tropical birds. One of my students said, “Do you want me to get my real bird?”

She left and returned with her parrot! It flew around her bedroom and landed on her head. It’s the first time in my 40-plus years of teaching art that I had a real bird in my class.

Andrean Andrus
K-8 art
Denver

‘What Happens Next Year?’

BRIC ARCHIVE

On March 16, I wondered: Was I doing enough to engage my students? Was I confusing their academic growth? Did I help them feel safe and loved?

On April 16, I wondered: How can I keep up with the 12-hour days? What else can I do to be there emotionally for my students? Was this our new reality?

On May 16, I wondered: What do my students feel about missing our final days together? How are colleagues who aren’t coming back next year? What else could I have done? What else? What next? What happens next year?

Kyle Shugart
5th grade English
Canton, Ga.

‘Once He Started Working From Home ...’

BRIC ARCHIVE

The most amazing thing happened to one of my students. During school, he was performing well below grade level in English/language arts, but once he started working from home, he was writing with the skill and sophistication of a 46-year-old woman. Amazing!

Gwyneth Nicholson
8th grade humanities
Saco, Maine

‘This Was Your Goodbye’

BRIC ARCHIVE

You would not read your poem “Perfect Practice Makes You Perfect” out loud but agreed to hang it on the wall with your classmates’ poems about their dogs, a lost shoe, a trip to the beach.

Later that day, I found you sobbing in front of your poem, agony hanging on the wall. The poem title was your baseball coach’s mantra, his pep talk before the big game, his motivation when a practice was tough.

Your beloved coach died suddenly earlier that week, at the beginning of the baseball season. This was your goodbye, your sorrow shared with us.

Erika Doherty
English, grade 7
Lincoln, R.I.

‘Instead, the Student Thanked Me’

BRIC ARCHIVE

I have been a special education teacher for the past 10 years. During the COVID-19 days, I spent many hours on the phone trying to meet the needs of my students.

On the last day of school, I told a student to stay safe and have a great summer. I thought he was going to say the same back to me. Instead, the student thanked me for all the help that I had given him during the pandemic. My heart melted. That comment meant more to me than all the raises in the world!

DiAnna Corrigan
High school special education
Smithland, Ky.

About This Project

Teachers’ lives are packed with powerful moments: moments of triumph, frustration, absurdity, joy, revelation, and hilarity. We want to hear about them.

Submit your Tiny Teaching Story, in no more than 100 words, here.

Related Tags:

Edited by Catherine Gewertz

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession Data What Teacher Pay and Benefits Look Like, in Charts
A third of teachers report inadequate pay, and Black teachers are the likeliest to do extra unpaid work.
4 min read
Vector illustration of a woman turning a piggy bank upside down with nothing but a few coins and flies falling out of it.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Why Teachers Likely Take So Few Days Off
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
3 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession What the Research Says The More 69ý Miss Class, the Worse Teachers Feel About Their Jobs
Missing kids take a toll on teachers' morale, new research says. Here's how educators can cope with absenteeism.
4 min read
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year.
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. Now research suggests the phenomenon may be depressing teachers' job satisfaction.
Brittainy Newman/AP
Teaching Profession Will Your Classroom Get Enough 'Likes'? Teachers Feel the Social Media Pressure
Teachers active on social media feel the competition to showcase innovative lessons and beautiful decorations.
5 min read
Image of a cellphone on a desk.
iStock/Getty