My Most Cherished Teacher Moments

My 30-year eclectic teaching “family” of students and colleagues began in August of 1974. The wall plaque outside my very first classroom in the old 1900 high school building in Stewartville, Minnesota, identified my room as a “TMR Special Education” setting.

It was an expansive room complete with a cloak room, echoing wooden floors, and tall
windows on two sides. When shut, the windows leaked so badly that if the wind blew out of the west, it rattled the long, black shades. The entire room was painted a bright lime green. As I entered, I couldn’t help but recite, “In the Valley of the Jolly . . . Ho, Ho, Ho . . . Green Giant!”

When I think back now, I realize how naïve, idealistic and nervous I was.

It was an exciting challenge to be on the forefront of public education finally being offered to ALL students. Those first students have always held a special place in my heart.

I can only imagine how they must have felt coming from an institutional setting, the sheltered environment of a day activity center, or having been at home with a parent all day, now to be in a large school classroom. Suddenly they were required to adapt to a structured daily schedule with new expectations and challenging activities. It  was a tall order.

We were partners on a journey. They taught me a lot. I became acutely aware of the effort necessary, theirs and mine, for students to achieve their developmental milestones. My appreciation of those successes became greater as time went on.

My first “tug at the heartstrings” moment I cherish came when one of my kindergarten students was included in the spring music program. I thought my heart would burst with pride as I watched him from the bleachers. Tears trickled down my cheeks as he sang every song and didn’t miss a cue.

I watched students blossom socially as they were included in activities with peers and school staff creating a sense of accomplishment. My philosophy was to always draw the circle wider for students, parents, staff and community members, incorporating opportunities to interact together, thus building relationships. Over the years this led to many cherished moments.

Watching friendships develop while participating with same-age peers in classroom activities, no matter the level of their academic functioning, fostered understanding, tolerance, patience, and kinship that was sustained into their futures.

I had many colleagues and school staff who automatically encouraged and invited me and my students to join in all school activities and events. It was life changing on many levels.

Early on I acted on my desire to know all students and staff. It was important to me to immerse myself in all school duties, activities and committees. This proved to be the key to making inroads for me and our special education program.

Most of my students had limited language skills and were nonreaders. They still  enjoyed time spent in the library every week with the mainstream class. One of my fourth graders had noticed his classmates took turns checking out a rather thick popular novel each week. It was a coveted piece of literature for the “in crowd”. He found it on the ready-to-shelve book cart and wanted to check it out. A few of his peers thought he should leave that book for others to read and urged him to get a picture book instead. The librarian didn’t bat an eye as she helped him use the book checkout system. She told him to enjoy reading his novel. His beaming face, while conspicuously carrying that book back and forth from home to school each day was priceless. He taught me the importance of teaching students the skill of watching their peers to mirror expected classroom behaviors. Learning to “play the game” is an important life skill.

Another cherished memory was watching school staff reach out to spend time with “our” kids. They would drop by our classroom to interact and see what we were doing. Being noticed with a smile or encouraged to communicate was a gift of time and connection. These gestures of genuine kindness were pebbles dropped into a puddle that yielded ripples, transforming our school environment. We were welcomed, protected and we BELONGED! This became abundantly clear to me as I transferred between three schools over the years and witnessed how friendships stood the test of time.

When my caseload became a group of high school students, the gap in academic skill level became wider. Some staff were reluctant to accommodate or adapt their academic standards to be inclusive of students with lower academic abilities. However, peers who had always been together were quick to take the lead to be inclusive. Through them, teachers found ways to develop differential expectations. They saw that the bigger picture of fostering friendships was the goal. The seeds had been sown in those early years of elementary school.

What fun to watch a group of students with mixed abilities and personalities become young adults. All the years of acquiring incremental academic, social and emotional skill growth, led to that most cherished moment: walking across the stage at graduation. Once again, my tears flowed. I will forever admire each child’s tenacity and effort to achieve that milestone.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a side note, a crowning glory event that warms my heart to this day. My teaching partner and I gave our students the assignment to plan a pre-graduation classroom party. During the year, she and I had supplied treats for quarterly celebrations of student successes. Independent of us, students were to employ math, reading, writing and communication skills to plan a fitting send off. They decided each was to be responsible to contribute something to the party. As observers, we chuckled as the negotiated list of assigned snacks became longer and longer. The cherished moment imprinted in my mind is when they turned to me and in unison begged me to bring both of my specialties: BBQ meatballs AND cocktail hotdogs!

Success can be measured in many ways. Their confidence, cooperative efforts and  leadership skills came shining through.

LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE THEY COME!

Copyright © 2025 by Cathy Meinhardt