This year has had many ups and downs. My favorite memory of the school year has nothing to do with current students but with a former one who came to visit and talked to current ones. In high school, he was a bright but unmotivated student who barely passed his classes--not for lack of intelligence but for lack of motivation, interest, whatever you choose to call it. I had not seen him in six years and was shocked when he called to the school and wanted to visit. I did not recognize him at first--clean cut, dressed conservatively and obviously not living the life we had feared for him. He has a job--not a great one--but a job and is going back to school. He told the students that the main obstacle that he had faced after high school was that he didn't know what he needed to know to get a good job. He stated that each employer he went to expected him to "actually know" what he had been taught in high school. I found him interesting and so did the students. Some of them knew him from the neighborhood and they had always thought he was in a gang or something. It was an illuminating moment for all of us to see that a former student actually needed to go back to school for something to improve his lot and that it was OK with him for that to happen. It would be nice if all former students would share successes/failures in this way. It is much more powerful than anything adults can say.

We teachers do not do our job for money or for the summers "off". Most of us work during the summer. We do our jobs to make a difference, to contribute to our community. And we do it in spite of the many obstacles we face. We are the creators of all professions. The best memories are really the ones to come. Like the writer, vetern teacher, our memories are always reshaped by the students who return and share their lives with us again.

I envy children who live their lives in a basic geographic area and are able to attend schools with friends from first grade through graduation and beyond. Continuity seems to be a precious gift when you attended 13 schools and all in different cities and countries. My memories are mostly a blur and I was not able to hold onto friends via long distance.

In spite of that though one of my grandest memories was in second grade. My teacher was beautiful inside and out and she was magical too. Each of the grades took a turn at baby chick incubating but our teacher was the only one who was successful. We watched those eggs with eager anticipation and my teacher knew (that's when I knew she was magic) that they were going to be born on Saturday and I made huge pleas to my parents to make sure I was there for the event. Every single egg hatched and I watched some come out of their shells wet but hollering cheeps. I was amazed, enthralled ........ Of all my memories, this is the most magnificent.

This year ended with us being robbed by the Baltimore school sysytem!My husband went to pick up my daughter on her last day of school and when he tried to get her report card he was told that our daughter apparently did not return a library book last year so she could not get her report card.My husband returned home and tore apart our home looking for this book that my 9 year old daughter swore she had taken back last year.My husband returned to school and told the librarian that she had returned that book a year ago and how could she had been able to take out books all this year?He informed my husband that last years librarian did not keep up good records. My husband then forked over the twenty dollars needed in order to BUY our daughters final report card of the year!The only lesson my daughter got out of all this is that money can buy you anything!!!

@Helen Smith-There is no uniform poilcy in the city regarding replacing lost or damaged library books.For this year's librarian to blame last year's is lame.Did the current librarian lend books all year and never remind your child about an outstanding bill? $20.00 is excessive. Call Sheila Grap,Director of Libraries in the central office and request an explanation. On the other hand, books are expensive, budgets are very limited and if you think your child lost the book, just pay up gracefully. As a librarian , I can truly tell you that every child says they returned the book and then brings it back. Money buys books. I'm sorry your child and your family had a bad experience. I ask parents to replace the book rather than pay so that we actually get the book. Happy Summer.

@Smith--I am sorry that you feel you were robbed by the system. While I agree that your librarian handled the situation poorly, I can tell you from personal experience that every year "returned" books are miraculously "found" in homes, lockers and friend's lockers at the end of the school year when obligation forms are used to hold report cards. Books are horribly expensive and students are not as responsible as they should be with them. I firmly believe that students should be able to take books home to use for study and personal reading. That privilege does come with the responsibility to return the book in reasonable condition and on time. I have had books returned that were torn, water damaged, or written in. When students are asked to replace them, I usually get a response of "But I gave you the book back." Too many of our students treat books and the supplies provided them are theirs and not a loan. We must teach them that not everything is theirs to be used up. While this situation may not apply to your child, there are enough incidents of this nature for schools to require books be paid for. One last question--did you ask to look on the shelf in the library to find the book there? Might have solved the issue.