Jenna’s Last School Days of Year One

Episode Transcript

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:00:00]:
Last time on Year One, Jenna made a big decision about what she'll be doing next year when she accepted a job teaching 5th grade math at a different school next year.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:00:11]:
Since I'm going to be in a fifth grade classroom like that just presents a whole other list of challenges and list of things that didn't apply in a third grade classroom. I don't really know what to expect or what I will be able to take in with me until I'm there.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:00:24]:
On this episode, it's Jenna's last day as a first year teacher. This is Year One from Carnegie Learning, a podcast that chronicles all the ups and downs of one teacher's first year in the classroom. I'm your host, Kanika Chadda Gupta. As Jenna gets ready for her last day as a first year teacher, she can't help but reflect on how much has changed since the beginning of the school year.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:00:54]:
I was excited because I knew it was the last day of school, but I didn't really have that same anticipation that I had with like the first day of school. Like, I remember before the first night of school, I like couldn't sleep, I was nervous and I like woke up extra early and all that stuff. And by the end of the year I'm like, I'm in my routine. It just felt like any other morning, like stop to get coffee on the way, you know, that sort of thing. I think definitely as the year has gone on, I've felt like it's taken up less of my mind and less of my whole hours of every single day, which is a good thing. That's how it should be. I knew the world wasn't going to end if I didn't get extra prepared. I started to feel comfortable in myself and my capabilities to be able to just like show up and do my job instead of letting my job control my brain.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:01:38]:
And like, I don't think I would go back and change anything because I feel like in order to feel like I had everything under control, there wasn't any other way that I could have approached the first few months of my first year of teaching. Just kind of like living and breathing teaching and thinking about what the next day was going to look like. But as a year went on, I tried to challenge myself to like get involved in different things or just take time to do X, Y and Z, like hang out with friends or go just do other things that I wouldn't necessarily have let myself do towards the beginning of the year because I was so focused on making sure I was prepared for the next day or the next whatever to come.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:02:14]:
While the beginning of the day was business as usual, with Jenna leading an arts and crafts session and having the kids help clean the classroom after lunch, the emotions of the day finally began. Just before recess, I kind of, like.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:02:28]:
Sat them all down, and I was like, I want to let you guys know, like, this year was. Even though it had its ups and downs, it was, like, the best first year of teaching that I could have asked for. And even though I'm not going to be here next year, you know, I'm going to remember all of you guys for the rest of my life, and you guys are going to be fantastic fourth graders, and I cannot wait to see and hear all the awesome things you're up to. That sort of thing. So just a general blank statement. And then I did tell all of them. I was like, and all of you are not allowed to leave today until you give me a big hug, because that's what I need from you before you leave. So then we went outside, and then everyone gave me a hug as they walked out the door to get to where they needed to be.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:03:04]:
When I was, like, giving them hugs goodbye. Some of the ones that I was, like, hugging and being like, oh, I'm really going to miss you are the students that gave me a lot of trouble because those are the ones that I put my, like, heart and soul into over the year. So, like, some of my absolute stinkers I was saying bye to, and I was like, man, why am I getting choked up right now? Like, you caused me so much frustration throughout the year. But also, like, with those sentence, you have seen how much they've grown, whether it's been an up and down journey. Like, you've seen that and you know that you've taken part in that. So I hate to give it to them. But it is those, those troublemakers that you have those breakthroughs with that kind of meant the most to me. And, like, I know it's cheesy.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:03:47]:
Even though, like, my students make me want to rip my hair out sometimes. Like, I really am going to miss them. Like, they have made such, like, an imprint on my heart and on my life at this point in time, all of my family knows at least, like, they could probably name five of my kids just because I talk about them so often. Like, my students are my circle right now. Like, I spend the majority of my time with these 26 kids. So, yeah, I'll miss them. Which I know is cliche, but, you know, there's something special about A first year class, even if it has had its major up and downs, behaviorally, whatever, there's still something very special about it.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:04:26]:
Even tougher than saying goodbye to her students was parting ways with her friend and fellow first year teacher, also named Jenna.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:04:35]:
I got, like, emotional when I was saying bye to my coworker Jenna from across the hall. This is the last time we're going to be across the hall from each other. Like, this is the last time, like, we're going to be in this building working together. Honestly, it's just been so nice to have someone my age in the same position as me that's starting as a first year teacher, also has absolutely no idea what they're doing, but wants to, like, find the joy and wants to be the best that they can be. So, like, we just relied on each other a lot, you know what I mean? So that will just be, that'll be something that I miss in the future. And it's not to say that I won't have that relationship with a coworker in the future, but it's, you know, it's bittersweet when it's your first year of teaching and you're going through it with someone who's also a first year teacher, and when you also, on another level, just like click as friends and you have the same freaking first name, like, it's just, it's too good to be true. So that'll definitely be something that I miss.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:05:31]:
After saying her final goodbyes, all that was left for Jenna was to pack up her classroom and reflect on the rollercoaster of a year that was now officially behind her.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:05:42]:
I turned in my key, everything's in my car. But I couldn't have done it without help. Like, oh, my gosh. I went in twice outside of school hours with my family and friends in kind of two different shifts. And one was just to take down the decor in my room, like all the bulletin boards and all the stuff that made the room feel cozy and homey. And then the other one was just all my, like, supplies and my stuff. When I was there with my family, I had like my sister take a picture of me in my empty classroom to like, commemorate it so I can remember it and that sort of thing. As I was taking things down, it was just kind of always in the back of my mind like, oh, I'm going to miss this place.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:06:20]:
I feel like obviously there are a lot of careers and jobs in the world that form, you know, connections and have impacts on the world, but I feel like being an educator is just a very, like, unique privilege because you get to make such relationships and make such impact on the future generations to come that will one day be the teachers and will one day be all of the other jobs that are important the world. Even though the days might be crazy and the kids might be insane, like, it's a very encouraging job to have, because when you think of elementary school, you think of, like, the fun things that you did. You know what I mean? Like, I hope that everyone's recollection of elementary school is the extra mile that the teachers went for them to make that specific day or that specific theme, you know, special for that, for those students. It's my hope that I was able to be that for my students. So when they think back on their third grade year that I. They'll think of, you know, the positive memories and the. And how I made them feel as their teacher, that they were loved and supported and that they were encouraged to be the best that they could be academically and, you know, socially and emotional.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:07:29]:
And as you've heard throughout the entire series, our veteran teachers, Phanesha, Maggie and Nashira echo the same feelings.

PHONISHA HAWKINS [00:07:38]:
God bless elementary teachers. They are the happiest people you'll ever meet in your life. They are just so full of joy, and every day is a great day, and we're just gonna make the best of it, and come on, baby, come in my classroom. We're gonna have a great time today. I just. I don't know how they do it. They are true super people because you got to deal with the tears and the crying and sometimes bodily fluids, and I just. I don't understand.

PHONISHA HAWKINS [00:08:05]:
They're the happiest people I've ever seen in my life. They truly are.

PHONISHA HAWKINS [00:08:10]:
They are.

MAGGIE JONES [00:08:11]:
When I say teachers have big hearts, I'm telling you, they've got big hearts because, I mean, if we didn't love teaching, if we didn't care, we wouldn't be doing it. I mean, you're working with the future, you know, I mean, you're building, you know, kindergarten first and second. We are laying the foundation, the blocks of. Of what hopefully they'll become in the future. And, you know, we want them to do well. We want to educate and give kids opportunity like you. You want to be a lawyer? Let's do it. You know, you.

MAGGIE JONES [00:08:40]:
You want to be a race car driver? Absolutely. You. You want to become on the Space Force, the new, you know, branch of the military? Absolutely. What can we do, you know, to get you there? Let's get your Mind going, let's get you there. Let's. Let's sow those seeds. And hopefully they'll. We may never see him flourish or come to fully blossom, but our goal is to at least get that groundwork in there and, you know, show them that they're cared and loved for and that they.

MAGGIE JONES [00:09:04]:
They can do it.

NISHIRA MITCHELL [00:09:05]:
I'm pretty blessed to love what I do. And I get emotional because I know some of the work that I've done and how I have touched kids and teachers, and there is no price on that. It's all about how you treat people. Like. I saw a kid just the other day that's at the high school that went to my middle school. He said, hi, Ms. Mitchell, you over here. He gave me a hug.

NISHIRA MITCHELL [00:09:29]:
Like that matters because they're never going to remember what I taught them about Mesopotamia or whatever. They don't care about that, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I'm blessed to be able to do what I love every day. And it ain't easy, but it's definitely worthwhile. And remember, when we do our epitaph one day, it's not about the beginning date or the end date is the dash in the middle. And so was that dash worth dashing? And I would say that if I were to leave this earth today, I know that that dash is a dash worth dashing.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:10:05]:
Almost every day I would come away from school feeling fulfilled in some way, shape, or form because I knew that I had an impact on a kid. Whether they, like, got something in class for the first time, they had that aha moment, or like, I laughed with a student who was in a bummer mood and I made them smile. There were little wins among every single day. I mean, it's crazy to just think that, like, I did it. You know what I mean? Like, I saw a classroom from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I definitely had moments of failure and moments of mistakes and moments of awesome things that happened. It was a rollercoaster, but I made it through. And it's possible to make it through.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:10:46]:
Even if you feel like a chicken, your head pop off sometimes. A lot of people who become teachers and then, like, they do it for a few months and then they freak out because they decide that it's too much for them. And I feel like at the end of the day, you're never going to learn or you're never going to grow if you don't try and take that leap. I mean, it's. It's the only thing that I've seen myself doing my whole life, from when I was little. It's all that I've really wanted to be. So it has definitely paid off and I've groupened myself that I can do it.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:11:15]:
This is Year One, an exploration of one teacher's first year in the classroom, brought to you by Carnegie Learning. Be sure to follow Miss.MacNulty on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with Jenna on her journey beyond this podcast. For additional exclusive content, free teaching resources, and more, visit yearonepodcast.com. 

We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this series and have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a teacher today. Teachers are so crucial to the future, and it's only by sharing stories like Jenna's that we can help teachers stay in education. Keep listening as we share bonus episodes and other teacher stories later this year. Thank you for tuning in.