Surprises and my last days in the classroom

I knew there was a "picnic" scheduled for Thursday night at my school, but what happened was far beyond my expectations.  After eating some grilled kielbasa, the school directors went up to the front of the room and began to thank David and me for volunteering for the past 4 weeks.  Then they showered us with gifts; we received books about Poland, coffee mugs, and many other surprises.  Best of all, each of our students signed their name on a large certificate, and soon the children sitting next began pointing to where their names were written and giving me high-fives. 

Then David and I said a few words of thanks and appreciation to all of our students in the room (with the help of a translator).  I don't know if any of them really understood the idea that we learned just as much from them as they learned from us! 

Friday was another bittersweet day; since it was the last day of school, we spent most of our time playing games and, with the older students, talking about school and social life.  The younger students showed their emotions the most, and they started drawing "Nick and David" on the board and writing their names on Post-It notes so that we would remember them.  When we said "Do Widzenia" for the last time, all the kids started to hug us and would not let go!  We were both sad and happy at the same time; I was sorry to see them go because we had so much fun, but I was happy for all the memories and lessons that I would take home with me.

When my last class ended and the last students walked out the door at 1:30pm, I was in a state of disbelief.  How had it gone by so fast?  And had I really made a difference in such a short period of time?  I think so.  Where was the proof?  In both the first and last weeks, we held a contest where the students had to write down as many words as they could in English.  In the beginning, the winner in one of our classes wrote 52 words.  At the end?  121!  That's a 133% increase.  Wow, that makes me feel good.

But my impact hopefully has more to do than just words on a page.  I hope my students learned more about American culture and understand what it's like to live in Rochester, NY. 

Most importantly, I think I made friends with most of my students.  David and I were certainly not normal English teachers.  Since we were younger and more entertaining than the school's normal faculty, I think our classroom was a lot more fun.  After all, it is the summer!  I remember that every time the school director walked in, the students would immediately sit down and behave like little angels.  But when it was just David and me, things could get chaotic.  We played a maze game once where I was blindfolded and the students had to give me directions to my chair.  They quickly took advantage of my vulnerability and surrounded me and started tickling me to death!  Would they do that to their regular English teacher?  Probably not.  But was the regular teacher their friend?  Probably not.  But we certainly were!

PHOTOS OF MY STUDENTS AND CLASSROOM: