Random thoughts at the close of another year

Yearbook day was yesterday, officially ending another school year. In retrospect, the year flew by so quickly that it almost amazes me that I got everything done that I wanted to do. I am going to miss having some of those kids in my class every day, and others....not so much. But such is the life of being a teacher, right?
Some were teary-eyed at the thought of leaving middle school. I was flabberghasted! High school is the chance for some students to break out of their shells and shine! Why would you want to stay in middle school? At least the city we live in is small enough to bump into each other at Wal-Mart twice a week.
We had one of our teachers retire this year after almost 30 years of teaching. What a dedicated soul. One teacher in the district retired after 35 years of teaching. This is the end of my 2nd year. How many lives could you touch in 35 years of teaching? The number is astronomical. Especially teaching at a school where I am the ONLY 8th grade English teacher, I will teach every student that comes through those doors. I will know the entire community. That's a daunting prospect.
I have so much that I'd like to do differently next year from these first two years, and I've stumbled on to a few things that seem to work well that I might continue to use. I admire our history teacher who threw out his old curriculum this year and started fresh in his attempt to keep himself from getting into a rut and teaching the same old thing year after year. That's inspiring. I definitely don't want kids of former students coming though my class and having their parents say "That's what we did when I was in Mr. Weller's class!" The thought is terrifying.
Summer has begun, I have classes and projects to fill every hour of my time, and next school year will come very quickly.