The Heart of a Student

Today’s blog entry is from guest blogger Brandi Jordan from the Really Good Stuff Teachers’ Lounge!  A must-read to remember why we are in the classroom each and every day!

 

I have taught in some very unusual classroom situations.  During the third year of my teaching career I trekked across the country from Pennsylvania to Phoenix, AZ for what sounded like an amazing job at a brand new charter school.  As most teachers at “brand new charter schools” can tell you, the amazing part of the experience can actually be having a classroom.  Imagine my dismay when, after driving for a week and signing an apartment lease, it was announced that the school that they were planning on building was not exactly, well, built.  With 15 days until school was supposed to open, the odds of that happening were slim to none.

Still, somehow, things came together and my classroom ended up being at a preschool run by the “parent company” who also owned the charter.  It was great, except that, oh yeah, I would not be teaching just one grade, but suddenly I had a 3rd-4th-5th Grade combo class! Keep in mind that I had been teaching Kindergarten for the last two years.  Surprise!

 

Ironically, it was one of the best years of my teaching career.  Not only did I have to think outside my lesson plan book to meet the needs of all of my students, in all three grades mind you, but I also had a class full of students who I will never forget.  I would like to tell you about one of them.

 

Eddie was a third grader and I had been forewarned by his Second Grade Teacher that he was a handful.  She described him as “intense, inattentive, unfocused, and a behavioral challenge.”  After just having a class the year before with a little boy who tried to rip the acrylic nails off my hands, I thought I was ready for anything.  And then Eddie came to class.

 

We watched each other warily, each trying to see where the line would be drawn, the gauntlet thrown down.  He would test, I would redirect.  He would test again, I would redirect again.  It went that way for about two weeks.  Then I started noticing something about Eddie.  He loved to draw.  In fact, if I did not redirect him, he would draw all day long.

 

So, instead of fighting it, I capitalized on his love of art.  I created centers for his grade and ability level that would allow him to use his skills and passion.  In an Underwater Adventure Center, he created an entire comic book, complete with dialogue, about an underwater adventure between a shark and a swimming dinosaur, two unlikely friends.  I found that the more I watched and listened to what he needed, the easier it was to make learning work for him.

 

A wonderful thing started to happen as that year evolved, Eddie went from being the outcast, to one of the most popular students in class.  His peers began to respect his ability to draw and create these magnificent pieces of art.  He was invited to play games and chosen quickly for teams.  His friends laughed with him, and no one was laughing at him anymore.  His mother called me crying one morning, because for the first time ever, Eddie had been invited to a classmate’s birthday party.  I cried with her.  The more he was accepted, the more confident he became both socially and in his schoolwork.

 

On his report card at the end of the school year I used my own adjectives to describe Eddie.  “Creative, focused, driven, hard-worker, kind-hearted, helper, and all-around great student.”  And while my words may have meant a lot to him and his parents, the tiny slip of paper that he gave me still means the most to me:  “Thanks.”

 

Teaching, at its very core, is not about testing and drills.  It is about touching hearts and nurturing souls.  Thank you, Eddie, for making such a difference in my life.

 

 

Brandi Jordan is a certified elementary teacher who now homeschools her three children.  She is also the Managing Director of The Teachers' Lounge Blog on the Really Good Stuff website, which is filled with great teacher tips and resources.  Also visit their facebook fan page!  Come say hi!