Never Ever Dull
With every conversation, I always seem to end with "Never a dull moment"....our lives are rich, complex, and beautiful stories. Join me in laughing about everyday things and appreciating life-bumpy roads and all.
Every class has a reputation. Parents know what I mean. For example, some classes get labeled "challenging", "lively", "really bright", etc. I'm blessed. This year, the consistent words describing my little people are the same across the board and from every teacher: "sweet, big hearts, and supportive".
How did my students earn this reputation? It all started about the second week of school. Here's what happened: I was told that I'd have a new student starting the next week. Me: Awesome! A girl or boy? Attendance Lady: A boy. He just moved here from Africa. A refugee. Me: Does he speak any English? Attendance Lady: No. In fact, I don't think he speaks....at all. My Little Friend* arrived at my classroom door. He was terrified. I took him in: Very thin, wearing brand new stiff jeans and a shirt that still had crease folds from the store, sad eyes, dragging his left foot as he made his way into the room. The translator shared that My Little Friend had never been to school. Then the translator left. He's never been to school and he doesn't understand English and doesn't speak at all. How would this work? My 19 precious students looked at the student and then looked at me. After spending the morning with My Little Friend, I knew that it would take a village and I needed my students to help me. They did. During the next days and weeks, they brought in preschool puzzles and stacking blocks. They took turns who would work with him while I taught my lessons. They modeled simple signs so we could communicate with My Little Friend. They showed him how to make sounds instead of his groans. They would spend lunch time demonstrating how to drink from milk cartons and how to use spoons and forks. They showed him how to high-five and hug. Many important adults came to observe. I know they were important because they had a bunch of letters behind their names on their business cards that were dropped on my desk. That pile grew for weeks. Adults in my school would comment that "he's a bless-his-heart-kind-of-kid" and peek in to watch him. But my students paid no attention to them. They were intent on teaching My Little Friend not to use his teeth to sharpen the pencils. We celebrated together when he learned how to use the electric sharpener. My Little Friend, thrilled with the discovery, sharpened almost all our packages of new pencils. My class and I had to learn to "hide" items out of his reach just like I'd done back when I had toddlers. My Little Friend wanted to explore everything! (Water fountains, slides, markers, etc. were all new to him.) It took a team effort. My students opened their hearts to a kid who looked and acted very differently from them. They had a choice and each individual chose to accept My Little Friend for exactly who he was in the present and not worry about the outcome. My class earned that reputation of being sweet, supportive, and having big hearts because they took the risk of caring for a kid that many didn't know how to handle or what to do with him. Sure, my lessons weren't the best during that time of figuring out how to juggle a refugee with some needs (like the day in which My Little Friend learned you could tear pages out of all my reading books while I was teaching math!!!)... but the life lessons my students came away with were so much more valuable than the lessons in my plan book. One skinny, loving refugee boy that struggled to walk through our halls will never leave our hearts. *Since this student was pretty much attached to my side, a teacher always called him this and it stuck. He really is My Little Friend. =)
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AuthorFun-loving mom to 4 kids and 1 big puppy. Fifth grade teacher of amazing little people who have never ending things to share with me. Love to discuss Jesus, diy projects, and life. Trying to keep it simple: Love Jesus, love people. Archives
December 2021
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