Blog Archive

Saturday, July 16, 2016

That Kid!

It happens every year around this time.  That hopeful anticipation of getting your class list for the new school year.  Getting my class list makes my teacher heart so happy.  It represents hope for a new batch of kiddos, renewed opportunities to make a difference, and a chance for reflection as I look back on previous years to what worked and what I can improve upon.

I scan my list trying to remember the names of siblings and students' names I've heard in the halls.  Some of those names have faces attached to them already...oh, I got her, she's so sweet just like her big brother...look, I got him, he's a handful, such a great math student.  The other names will have faces come open house.



Then, you come across that kid!  You know the one I'm talking about.  The name that makes your heart begin to pound and your head begin to ache.  The one that has a rap sheet a mile long in the office.  The one that other, well-meaning, teachers come to tell you all about.  That kid!

Already you are planning what you will do when that kid gets into the room.  You are going to put them in their place from the start.  You begin to play out scenarios in your head as to what you will do if that kid does A, B, and C...all the way through X, Y, and Z.  That kid!

But what if instead of seeing that kid through the lens of their past you look at them through the lens of their future.  A future that you have a hand in writing.  Instead of focusing on the rap sheet or the comments of others, you let that kid begin the year with a clean slate.  Instead of looking at where that kid is coming from look at where they are going.

Someone once asked me if I would want my child (or a child who is important to me) to be a student in my classroom.  This statement totally wrecked me as a teacher!  At the same time it became a mantra to guide everything I do in my classroom.

We only get one beginning of the 2016-2017 school year!  Make it count!


2 comments:

  1. So well said. Thanks for the reminder... Always chose kind! I'd love if any child of mine was placed in your room.

    ReplyDelete