Today we honored of one of my coworkers; it was his last day of school. He is a wonderful advocate for children and it was sad to see him go. During the celebration I realized that he wasn’t only going to be missed by fellow staff members, but also by all of the students that he has impacted over his four years of work. I have always known that teachers can make a positive difference in a child’s life, which is why I chose to go into this field, but today I realized that in some situations the difference a teacher can make in a student’s life is even greater than anyone could expect. During the assembly I looked around at all the students and saw so many students crying. It was a very sweet assembly with many meaningful goodbyes but when the assembly was over the real tears came out. I can only assume a few students were crying because they may not have understood what was going on but I know that the majority of the students were crying because they were losing someone who was as close to them as family. For some students this teacher was the closest thing they had to a father figure. It was eye opening to learn that the relationships a teacher makes with students mean as much, if not more, to the students as they do to the teachers. I was touched by the outpouring of appreciation for this man; I am proud to call myself an educator.