A True Scouser at Heart

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It is my final night in Liverpool and I am packing up my room.<span> It’s been a hard day wandering around the city seeing places that hold so many memories.<span> Last week I finished teaching and had to hold back the tears.<span> My year 10s bought me a card and they all signed it.<span> I told them I would miss them all and one boy spoke up, “Don’t worry Miss, you will be back.<span> You are a true Scouser at heart.”<span> This is perhaps the greatest compliment I have ever been given (a Scouser is someone from Liverpool).<span> Another girl came to speak to me after class thanking me for everything.<span> She told me that I mean a lot to her.<span> What I couldn’t find the words to say was just how much she meant to me.<span> I am beginning to realize that I have not chosen a career as the teacher, but the student.<span> All of my students taught me so much about teaching, education, and life in general.<span>

The highlight of my time in Liverpool was Friday when I had to say goodbye to my year 7 class.<span> These students are considered “low ability” and I was told not to expect much from them.<span> However, they were the highlight of my teaching.<span> Their enthusiasm is pure and innocent.<span> One the last day, one of the students had made a card for me and had the entire class sign it.<span> When I walked in the class, they applauded and gave me chocolates and flowers.<span> I wanted so badly to pack them in my suitcase and take every one of them home with me.<span>

This past week, I had to write a reflection of my experience for Hope College.<span> Nothing I write can sum up the remarkable experience this has been for me.<span> I cannot capture the emotions that I have felt throughout this semester.<span> I am already dreading that question “how was England” that everyone will ask me when I return to the States.<span> How can I possibly answer that question in one short sentence?<span> How can I explain that the past four months have held some of the most amazing, frustrating, exhilarating, exhausting, challenging, educational, and moving moments of my life.<span>

By placing myself in an unfamiliar environment, I challenged myself to take risks both inside and outside the classroom.<span> Observing different teaching styles here has allowed me to critically assess their effectiveness in the British schools and ponder their possible effectiveness in the United States.<span> Every school has a different culture that I will have to adapt to as a teacher.<span> This experience has improved my willingness and readiness to adapt to new environments, which will continue to encourage and foster personal growth.<span> I am truly appreciative of this experience and the students that transformed how I view education and myself.<span> But, the most amazing part is I am only beginning to see the results of this experience. I know that my time in Liverpool will influence how I approach teaching and my personal life.<span>

I go home tomorrow ready to graduate and pursue my career as a teacher.<span> I am unsure of my future, but I go with new found confidence.<span> Thank you to everyone who has been supportive while I have been here.<span> Thank you to those of you I have met in Liverpool who embraced me and pushed me to grow.<span> I am forever grateful.

Cheers,

Becky

xxx

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