Made My Day

This post doesn't have any great research, life-changing advice, or groundbreaking realizations, but I wanted to share a conversation I had with a parent yesterday. I live in the town I teach so naturally I run into students and parents at the grocery store, while I'm looking through the racks at TJMaxx, and even at the gym. Most of the time I give a quick wave or hello to the student and/or parent and keep going. Yesterday as I entered the gym (where one mother works) I said a quick hello and planned on continuing with my workout. Instead the mother stopped me and said "Rose* was just talking about you this morning!" And then proceeded to share what Rose said that morning as she got ready for school. Apparently Rose's brother was pretending to be sick in an attempt to stay home from school when Rose piped up and told her mother and brother how much she loves school. She walked her mother and brother through her daily schedule. When she got the the part of the day where she comes to my classroom she shared with her mother some activities we complete and informed her mother that she enjoys going to my classroom.

And please keep reading. I am not trying to inflate my own ego... just bear with me. I have a point!

I was very happy to hear a student loves to come to my classroom, but what the mother said next almost made me tear up. She thanked me for making her daughter like school again. I feel as though sometimes people forgot how hard school can be for my students. Their brains are on overdrive in an attempt to keep up with their peers all day long. They leave school exhausted, frustrated, and sometimes at a point of depression. When students are identified and become mine my first goal is to get the student to fall in love with reading and learning. Most of the time when students come to me, they are so frustrated and confused they demonstrate task avoidance and a variety of negative behaviors. My goal to have students fall in love with learning is not formally written on their IEPs or on their report cards, but that is always my first objective! I firmly believe that students, and especially those in special education, need to feel successful and motivated before any significant learning can occur. Rose was identified as a student with a specific learning disability in reading and entered special education this year. In our conversation Rose's mother told me last year she would fight to stay home or spend the day in the hallway "getting a drink", "going to the bathroom", or in the nurse for every ache because she did not enjoy school. This year she is the one trying to convince her brother that school is fun!

I'm sorry if that felt like rambling, but I want to convey that teachers truly do make a difference. I want to FIRST encourage other teachers. You never know how much parents and students truly appreciate all the work we put in every day! You never know how many conversations take place in homes similar to the one Rose, her mother, and brother had. SECOND, I also want to encourage you to always keep in mind that we teach because we love to learn and what to instill that love of learning in students. We want all students, no matter how high or low, to enjoy reading, learning new material, and exploring new things on their own. We need to remember why we became teachers in the first place! It wasn't to get a four on our teacher evaluation or make sure we implemented every single Common Core State Standard! 

I keep this on my desk as a reminder.

Thanks for listening! :)



*Name was changed to protect student.