Mr. Lane Graduates!!!

Last week I had the dubious honor to attend commencement at Sun Devil Stadium. As many of you know I am finishing up my masters degree in elementary education at ASU. At graduation all of the graduates and their families were treated to the Commander in Chief delivering the keynote address. POTUS (President of the United States) as he is also known flew over Sun Devil Stadium in Air Force One prior to taking the stage. Our 44th president Barack Obama spoke for over thirty minutes about fulfilling ones potential and leading a life devoted to public service. The president spoke to an estimated crowd of 71,000 people. The president was eloquent, charming, inspiring, and funny all in the same breath. As a teacher I do a lot of talking and was entranced by each and every word he spoke.

Having the opportunity to hear president Barack Obama speak at graduation is something that will always be with me and my family. As a soon to be teacher I was enamored with his powerful words and wit all at the same time. I often feel that I have the educational speak down on top of the sense of humor (I know many of you would disagree). With each pause you could feel the silence within the stadium as the enormous crowd was waiting for his next word. It was certainly an experience that I will never forget. I remember sitting and just listening to his speech and Ms. Sandvig turned to me and said "Can you believe this? The president is speaking at our graduation." If anyone asked me again would I sit through 100˚ heat and wait for hours on end to hear the president speak and I would immediately reply with an emphatic yes in a heartbeat. It was truly a surreal moment for myself and all of the graduates.

I did miss each and every one of you last week. I did laugh this morning when Mr. Iannone told me you guys kept bugging him asking where I was. It was great to be back in the classroom and seeing everyone today. Sitting at graduation it dawned on me how much of this year I have actually spent with you guys. I have been so very fortunate to be with the 6th grade team since October (many of you have told me that you feel I have been with you guys the entire year). As the year comes to an end I know I have grown as a teacher and my experiences will go with me throughout my educational career. It has been exciting to see my own maturation as an educator, but also to witness how much the entire 6th grade has matured. I hope I taught you some valuable lessons that you will carry with you as you move onto 7th grade. I hope that I inspired you. I hope that I made you laugh. Most importantly I hope I made your education more valuable.

I want to thank Mr. Iannone for being such a great mentor and friend. I do not know what I am going to do next year without him. Mr. Iannone has allowed me to grow as a teacher and has been there for me no matter what the situation was. I also want to thank Mrs. Raimondo for allowing me into her classroom as well. In Mrs. Raimondo's room I got to meet and teach most of you for the first time. I also want to thank Mr. Waagner for always making me smile and providing words of encouragement. The biggest thanks goes out to all of you students who have been more than great each and everyday.

Graduation was a tremendous moment in my life, but in all comparisons it will never compare to the experiences I was fortunate to have shared with you the students each and everyday. The other special thing about graduation was the fact that I got to graduate with two great teachers that are my dear friends (Ms. Sandvig/Mr. Iannone's room) and (Mrs. Chavez/Mrs. Raimondo's room). I know they are both going to be great teachers and they have grown as teachers because they got to know each and everyone of you.

I want to give a special thanks to Garrick for the card. I am the Big Dawg now. I also want to thank Giddy Up for the donut. I want to thank everyone for their kind words Amber/Chatty and so many more.




Mrs. Chavez, myself, and Ms. Sandvig