This is what it is all about.

I love my "job."

The good, the bad, and sometimes ugly.  There is much that influences what I do in the classroom--at the school, district, state, and national levels.  Sometimes it is overwhelming to see all that is required, and know that it is nearly impossible given the six hours a day i'm with my kids.

I have 25 kids on 25 different levels in math, reading, and writing; as well as, 25 different personalities and behavior issues.  I have students in resource, and students that are gifted.  I have students that think they are dumb and are not capable of ever achieving anything academically (or socially).  Regardless of this, they are still all expected to be tested given the exact same test.  Their scores will determine how i'll be paid.

Forgetting the test, did they learn anything?  Did they progress academically?  Did they have fun doing it?  Are they going to remember what I taught?  

Did they learn to get along with their peers?  Did they learn the importance of being kind to others?  Were their emotional needs met?  Do they know they are loved?

It is a daunting task to say the least.  However, you couldn't pay me enough money in exchange for the email I received tonight.  It is as follows:

"Hello!

In school, we had to write an essay about one of our heroes in life.  Your name popped right into my head, and since I love you so much, I decided to write about you!  If we did this, we would send our papers into a contest.  In March, you would go to a building, and they would pick 7 essays that they liked the best, and give those 7 people, $100.00!!  I sent mine in, and hopefully, I will win, but I shared my essay with a couple of my friends, and they think that you sound extremely nice!!  I can't even tell you enough, how amazing you are, and that without you, I would not have made it through school!  I hope that the judges read this essay, and pick it, not only because it is good, but because you stand out so much, even though they haven't met you, but because they would pick my essay, because of how amazing you sound!  I hope you like it!!!!

December 19, 2014

                                                          My Teacher, My Friend, My Hero

    Heroes are all over the world helping others, but they aren’t Superman and Batman.  My hero is my fifth grade teacher Miss. Shumway.  Some people might think of her as just a teacher, but she’s more than that.   

First of all, she helped me overcome my fear of Math. I wasn’t very good at it, and I never got high grades. When the Math test would be set down before me, I wouldn’t remember the formulas.  Immediately, sweat would leak down my face, and I would feel tears well up in my eyes. For a lot of the problems, I would write question marks, or write a note saying I didn’t understand.  The next day, I would find the test sitting on my desk and my heart threatened to jump out of my chest.  When I turned it over, the horrible score stares back at me. Miss Shumway offered  to help me improve my grades. Throughout the year, she would have me come in early, and we would go over my homework assignment together.  Before I knew it, my grades had improved so much. Ever since I have met Miss Shumway, she has helped me overcome the fear of math, and it has become easy.

Next, she promised us the best of herself. On the first day of school, she explained to us that she was not going to be mean, or rude in any way, and told us that she would never get upset, unless we did something wrong, that we knew was wrong. Throughout the year, she kept her promise.  She never yelled, or grew angry, and she was one of the happiest teachers I had ever met. Best of all, she helped every student so much that parents were begging her to move up to sixth grade. There was something about her that no other teacher had.  She was able to work with children in an amazing way.  Children understood her, and she made children’s lives better.

I thought myself lucky to get the best teacher in the world. Miss Shumway’s last words of advice to me were to not give up, and to know that school was going to be easy if I made it easy.   Without those words, I would not have made it through school.  Clearly my hero, Miss Shumway, has helped me so much through my life, and I am grateful for her sacrifice.  

The End

Thanks for all you have done, and for making me a better person!  You mean the world to me!  Have a great rest of your day!" 

I sobbed.  This is why I teach.  I love this student so much.  I don't know if I would consider myself a "hero," but I love knowing that I made a difference to the one.  It makes it ALL worth it.  

It's been a while...

and a lot has happened! Since I last posted, I have taught for a second year (3rd Grade, Spanish Oaks Elementary) and just began my third year of teaching. Teaching third grade was a great learning experience for me. As I've reflected back on my experiences, I do sincerely miss my Spanish Oaks students. We had some difficult things to overcome, but we did it together. Things I learned last year will help me the rest of my teaching career.

I am back at Art City teaching FIFTH GRADE!! I love fifth grade.  I love Art City.  I am so happy to be back.  It sounds silly, but it really is just like coming home to me.  Although I am in a different classroom (4th classroom in 3 years--yikes!), I still just cannot believe I got back to Art City as quickly as I did.  I expected to have to teach several years away before the opportunity came again.  Lucky for me, it came the very next year!  After the first week of school, I can tell that this class will have it's own challenges, but it has already proven to be a fun group of kids.  They are the perfect age--so fun!  I am happy.


Changing subjects.  Recently I have had the opportunity to reflect on my beliefs.  I have had several close friends decide that they did not believe the church was true anymore--to the point of having their records removed.  Knowing the gospel is true has always just been something that I know without a doubt.  I consider that quite a blessing.  If ever a question came up about the church, it never bothered me.  I never questioned my beliefs--I just knew.  The church is true. 

One of my friends told me about her choice to leave the church.  This was the first time I seriously reflected on what I believe.  Her reasoning was mostly "social issues" and she felt the church needed to "evolve with the times."  Is she right?  Wait, what about gay marriage?  Or women being given the Priesthood??  As I studied this out and prayed about it, the answer came quite clear--I already know what is right.  It was a good reminder that God is mindful of us all.  He is there when we need Him--all we need to do is ask. 

I'm so grateful for the gospel.  I am thankful for the foundation it has given me.  It has been a guide throughout my life.  God loves me, just as He loves each and every one of us.  He communicates with His prophet on the earth, Thomas S. Monson.  I am getting so excited for October!  I love the anticipation for conference and the opportunity we all have to listen to our leaders.  The church is true.  I know it.

I wrote this once.

I ran across this today. I quite liked it. I'm impressed with myself. Ha!


 For the past few weeks I have been more aware of my surroundings, looking to have an aesthetic experience. There have been several different occasions where I have seen a breathtaking sunset. Another experience occurred while looking at the moon early in the morning. However, we were asked to find something on a smaller scale to have this experience.

 I currently work in the operating room and am able to see many different surgeries. The aesthetic experience I had pertained to the human body during a total knee replacement surgery. The body is an amazing creation that is impressive in many different forms.

There’s a beauty in blood, deep scarlet red blood.
The jagged shape of chiseled bone. Hard, unbreakable bone.

The squish-like, gummy worm feel of a piece of muscle.

The smell of burning flesh permeates the room. The knee fleshed open, A large gaping slice, then comes the hammer and chisel.

The beauty lies in knowing the power of the body to recover from this chisel and hammer pounding.

Beneath all these sensory stimulants, There is beauty.


True beauty.

THIS is why I teach.

I've gotten multiple emails "thanking" me for what I do.  I don't ever think, "gee, i'm the best teacher."  In fact, most often I see all the places where i'm failing.  These kinds of emails always make my day and make me feel like I must be doing something right.  I opened this one this morning.   



Miss Shumway,

Thank you so much for the great job you are doing! [C.] sure is a fan. The other day he was telling us how much he enjoys school and referred to you as his best friend. It was so cute! He sort of caught how strange that must have sounded and tried to clarify by telling us how kind and motivating you are. "What I mean is, she is a GREAT teacher," he clarified. Still, the friend remark made my wife and I feel such gratitude for the positive learning environment you create for him and all your students. Thanks again and have a super Thanksgiving.



      Day made.  And week, month, and year.  I don't aim to be a "best friend," but I do want each of my students to feel valued and loved--yes, even the tough ones.    I absolutely LOVE my job.  I am so thankful for this blessing.  I admit they are not all perfect days, but each morning I am happy to get up and go to work.  I get so excited to see my students and miss them when I don't see them everyday.  One student asked what I was doing over Thanksgiving.  I said I was staying around here with family.  "Then maybe we could just come to school and you could teach me!"  I almost took her up on that offer.    It's Friday and I am having a fantastic break!!  ....but I sure am glad I get to see all my kids on Monday morning. :)

They tell me i'm the teacher.

They say the students will call me Miss Shumway. 

Weird. 


Because of this, I am making the blog private again.  I guess you can't be too careful.  I think blogger saves the emails from the last time I went private, but if I don't have your email, leave it in the comments or send me an email at marykatherineshumway@gmail.com.  I'll add you to the list.  I'll hopefully have it closed within the week. 

Sorry about this...I hate logging in so I can read private blogs.