dear j lowe,

last year, right before you graduated from high school, you sat in my room and told me with utter seriousness, that you knew i would be one of the teachers to stay around for 25 years. you knew that your cousins would take me because you knew that i loved my kids and that i could never leave them.

i turned in my letter of resignation today before school started. here's what i said:

Dear Dr. Superintendent:

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the DeltaBrand Public Schools. It has been a joy to be a part of my students’ lives for the past two years, and the experience of living and working in the Delta has changed my life.

Regretfully, I must submit my notice of resignation, effective at the end of this contract year. Please know that this was a very difficult decision to make, as a large part of my heart wants to stay and continue to teach my students and their siblings. They have been a blessing during my stay here, as has the staff at the high school, especially Mr. Principal.

My plan, at this point, is to move back to (insert home state) to be closer to my family, to teach at the high-school level within the public-school system, and to pursue my Specialist’s Degree in Reading Education. While I love teaching in Mississippi, the move to (insert home state) would be rewarding both personally and financially, and I simply cannot ignore the benefits of doing so.

If you have any questions about my experiences as a teacher for our district or my resignation, please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to discuss either with you.


Sincerely,
Faith




here's what i did not say:

the idea of leaving my kids tears me apart. even when they're being little snots (see 3/3 post), they're still some of the coolest people i know, and i feel like i'm joining a pattern of people who desert them during their lives. when i came here, i wanted to provide some sense of continuity for my kids. my intent was to stay for more than just a couple of years. and then i got here and fell head over heels for these children/pseudo-grown folks (like k.w., who tells me that she reads her baby the book i got her every night... or coffee, who hassled me about joining me on my trip - "without your boyfriend is even better," he says - ... or cuz, who came to visit today during his final exam because he was bored and restless)... and i hate the fact that i'm becoming one of those "go to mississippi for the adventure of teaching, leave after two years" people. because it seems like more than that. i feel more torn right now than i did when i broke up with my last boyfriend. wherever i go next needs to IT because i can't go through this every couple of years.

james, i'm really sorry that i didn't turn out to be the teacher that you thought i was. i hope that you know how much i enjoyed you while i was here and how much i did and will always love you and your classmates.

forever,
appleg