I really enjoy Fridays. Especially when I’m assigned to the wonderful 3rd grade class. They are lively like any bunch of 9 year olds, but polite, and good-hearted. They’re the type of class that makes you remember why you wanted to educate in the first place.
There is one student in the class who is incredibly gifted, she’s inimitably advanced, especially when it comes to reading. So, during reading lessons, while the rest of the class works on their assigned enrichment work, whoever is teaching will sit with her separately. She will read a few pages from an advanced level reader to them and then do a comprehension quiz. She pulled up the seat next to her desk for me today, and when I sat down next to her, my whole world transformed. Suddenly, I was 12 years old again, sitting in the back of my 7th grade classroom, in the very same school that I’m teaching in now. I’m wearing my blackwatch plaid skirt, oxford and uniform vest, with my uniform knee socks, and my dress-code required shoes that gave me a srtiking resemblance to the mail man. In my day-dream I left out my awkward plastic rim glasses and my braces, but there’s nothing wrong with selective memory, right?
I forgot what it looked like from back there, it made me start to think about how I must look to them. My new view made me consider the way I speak to them, look at them, how wide the room looks from their angle, how big the possibilities are for them. All at once I wanted to speak softer, hold on to my patience for a little bit longer, and smile a little bit more often. It’s an intimidating view from back there. From the angle of our students, we’re big and they’re small– as a teacher, I’ve learned that in most cases, kids are much “bigger” people than adults are, with bigger hearts and bigger imaginations. Unfortunately, as 9 year olds, they are unable to cherish their innocence. From the back of the room, we have all the answers and they have none, but really, they’ve taught me more than I could ever teach them. So, even though I’m not positive about where or what type of job I’ll be taking after graduation next year, for today, I’ll try a little harder, and remember how scary being a student could be, and if one ounce of gentleness on my part can make a difference in their world today, then, I’ve done something right.
