Each year, in teaching, I seem to grow with one particular student. All of my students bring joy into my life, but this one student adds in a little, or a lot, of chaos. They struggle to adapt to the norms, which to others may look frustrating, but to me it says, “Challenge Here! Help Needed”. These are those students with behaviors they cannot control for reasons they may never understand.
I can think of a student from every year or placement that I have made this special connection too. They are the student that is so difficult teachers and parents are at a loss. Or they get no attention because people have given up on them. When I was student teaching I grew close to a young girl in 5th grade. She had a rough childhood, to say the least. She wanted no part of me when I entered the school. She would joke that I looked like a student, and why should she trust or listen to me? Her teachers did not care whether she roam the hall or sit there in class. They would send her to the instructional room, where I was teaching, for a break (for them or her?). By the end of that year we were both crying because I had to leave. I was graduating, and moving back to Illinois so coming back to visit wasn’t even an option. My first year of teaching I was in two different schools forming amazing relationships. Both classrooms I was in had a handful of students that changed my life. This year, my challenge accepted is one that makes me love what I do. He came in about 3 weeks into the school year not knowing how to “school”. He struggled making friends, following directions, sitting still, adjusting to routine changes, and so much more. One thing he was really good at, though, was coming into school with a smile everyday. My co-teacher, Rosemary Kusel, and I have made an immense amount of accommodations for this student to see him succeed. Some work great, others were a bust that needed to be tossed to the side, and a few are still being made today. This special student challenges me everyday with a new obstacle we both have to overcome. The practice and problem solving that occurs pushes me to be a better teacher. I am learning how to handle different types of situations everyday. These experiences are some that I will bring with me wherever I go. I might end the day completely mentally and physically exhausted, but I leave work knowing I will be walking in to that shining smile the day to come. To, my special student.
3 Comments
Natasha
3/12/2019 03:57:41 pm
Kids who struggle but come in with a smile are really amazing, aren't they? I have a student like that, too, and I am blown away by his capacity for resilience. This line struck me: "They would send her to the instructional room, where I was teaching, for a break (for them or her?)" --because it's so true. There have been many times when I've needed to send a child to another room just so I could regain my patience and perspective. How lucky these special students are to have been able to form great relationships with you.
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Tracey
3/13/2019 12:17:20 pm
Your attitude of looking at challenging students as learning opportunities is awesome!
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3/14/2019 05:52:44 pm
Yes, those special students who occupy a little bit bigger piece of our hearts!
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AuthorI am a second grade teacher at Irving Elementary School in a co-taught classroom! Archives
May 2019
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