I have made it through a year of teaching First Grade in Cambodia. There were times that I seriously didn’t think I would make it. It has been a really rough year filled with many challenges, including my accident in January that resulted in over 7 weeks off work and a difficult transition back into the classroom as I slowly made progress with my recovery.
These students have been with me through it all. Through the good and the bad we journeyed on. We endured multiple power outages, extreme heat, hard work and even assisting their poor teacher who hobbled around on crutches.
My students have been a huge bless, each one of them in their own special way, they helped mold and make me into a better teacher. Each of them came such a long way and I am so proud of their progress. Grade 1 is certainly a grade of great growth, not only academically but also physically, emotional and spiritually. The class has had to go through so much and yet they come out stronger for it, and for that I am truly thankful.
Enough though I can look back with a smile there will be a lot of things I plan to do differently next year, along with incidences that I hope will never be repeated (like I'm not planning on getting run over again). Right now I just look forward to a well deserved holiday and getting some much needed rest so that I may have fresh energy for the new challenges to come.
So to celebrate an amazing year together, with these cheeky guys, awards were given out, just to let them know how much they really mean to me. I started to tear up as I told them this morning how proud I am of all of them. These kids are so resilient and for that I praise God. They love to please their teacher and even though their mischievous behaviour and chatty dispositions can drive me batty at times I am going to miss each one of them as they move onto Second Grade.
