The other day I had my parent information night where parents could come and get to know more about the gifted and talented program. I had two students and their moms come to give their insight on how the program has helped them the last few years.
After I got home that night, I kept thinking about how much the two girls have grown since the beginning of third grade (one is now a fourth grader, and one is a fifth grader). Just watching them talk at the meeting – telling what they enjoy about the program, how it has helped them, and answering questions from the audience – really showed me how much the program has helped them become even more successful.
This then made me start to think about my why for teaching. I do not teach for the money, but for the reward of seeing my students be successful. I enjoy seeing them start out small and grow to become more mature and succeed in life. It truly is a blessing!!
The meeting also helped me to see that I am helping my students get what they cannot get in a normal classroom. They need to be challenged in order to be more successful, and they are able to get that through the gifted and talented program. I will forever be grateful that I was able to design the GT program and help out all these students who otherwise would be bored in school and would not experience the fun of learning more and more information.