end of an era

Today was my last day with the 6th grade classes, and to be honest, it was pretty much the same as any other class. Why you ask? Don't your students love you? Don't they want to shower you with gifts and letters and take pictures of you? I have a way to answers that:
Yes, they do love me (Im pretty sure...) and I often feel their appreciation for my teaching/ saying words they cannot understand with animated gestures and then having them yell loudly during something I call a "game". But for those who are actually good at English, I am probably less of a novelty and more of just another face of just another foreigner who stays for a year and then leaves. If they are anything like my first homestay sister who had her first native speaker at age 4, I think by the time they hit 12 they must have had at least 8 different native speaker interactions/relationships. I think if I had that many English teachers come for one year and then leave I would eventually grow accustomed to that pattern and not really involve or invest myself as much in our relationship. I do think that some students are fonder or me than others, and this could be for a million reasons but I can sense that the ones who have had more exposure are also more aware of the ending to the relationship. Seeing it through their eyes I can imagine that it is not seen as a worthy way to spend time, investing in someone who will surely vanish in a few months time. I also think frequency has something to do with it. I can remember the bonds that I formed with my "homeroom" teachers when I was in 6th grade, those who saw me every day and taught me math or writing. And following my own logic, it is sad to say that I cannot even remember the name or face of a single art teacher I have ever had.
So as I say goodbye to my lovely 6th graders, who I still run into in the hallways...I think of myself less as a teacher who changed their perspective on English but more of a fresh face that is going away in my due time that simply delivered the same message that the teacher before me did not finish.

And I guess the second reason is that none of the students knew that it was our last class and when the Korean teacher translated what it means they were in an uproar. I had to give a whole class my autograph and another shouted out "Don't go to Africa" as I greeted them. Some students asked for my email and one asked for my phone number, proceeded to call me that day and tell me about the chicken he was eating.

Thus, I think the major difference between the goodbye of the last 6th grade class is this one is still coming back after summer break and I will be gone where as the first class was leaving me behind.
:)