Thursday was an unforeseeably great day. I expected it to be sad; it was my last day as Ms. Caro's teacher assistant, and quite frankly, I wasn't ready to go. I wanted to surprise the kids with some cupcakes that I had made the night before, but when placed next to what they did, the cupcakes were really nothing at all; they planned a surprise goodbye party and handmade cards which I must admit lie proudly in my room.
The star of the party was definitely Santiago; he was dancing and singing to reguetton, his face was as red as a strawberry, and his rapping skills were clearly under development. As most of us laughed at him, Yeun, one of the shyer students from class, came up to me and timidly untucked a card that she had folded into her right pocket. As my eyes ran through the first line, a deep feeling of kindness and affection flowed through my body and raced to my extremities.
The star of the party was definitely Santiago; he was dancing and singing to reguetton, his face was as red as a strawberry, and his rapping skills were clearly under development. As most of us laughed at him, Yeun, one of the shyer students from class, came up to me and timidly untucked a card that she had folded into her right pocket. As my eyes ran through the first line, a deep feeling of kindness and affection flowed through my body and raced to my extremities.
Now I've received cards before, but this was different. It was the fact that she had written it, and what she had written, that really ticked me...in a good way. Yeun's shyness mostly comes from that she is a new student who arrived to FDR knowing no English or Spanish - put me in her shoes and I would probably be the same way. During the practice presentation that she gave of her PYP Exhibition on Thursday, some of the students started laughing at her; they told her they couldn't hear or understand what she was saying. I could tell the humiliation was gradually building up in her. When she broke into tears, I brought her to the bathroom to try and make her feel better, but I'm afraid that I'm not the best when it comes to dealing with those types of situations.
And that's why the card came as such a surprise to me. In it, she wrote about how much she had appreciated the moment in the bathroom, and explained that she was writing this because she didn't feel comfortable speaking about it. I know it sounds like something menial, but when one of the shyest students in the class does something like that, it means a lot because it shows you that they are analyzing what's going on around them. They may not be talking about it, but deep inside, they get it.
And that's why the card came as such a surprise to me. In it, she wrote about how much she had appreciated the moment in the bathroom, and explained that she was writing this because she didn't feel comfortable speaking about it. I know it sounds like something menial, but when one of the shyest students in the class does something like that, it means a lot because it shows you that they are analyzing what's going on around them. They may not be talking about it, but deep inside, they get it.
On a separate note, on Friday, there was a parade for us leaving seniors. The whole school was there cheering for us and holding flags that represented our different universities. But the best and funniest part of all was that in the midst of the crowd you could hear a group of kids screaming "Gise! Gise! Gise! Gise!". It was the cutest thing I had seen; Mateo, Anita, Camila, Santiago, Gonzalo... all the kids were there cheering.
1. how do these stories connect, and 2. are you just going to tell us anecdotes?
They do connect, I promise. And no, I'm not.
What I want to emphasize is what the anecdotes represent, and that, to me, is the impact that a teacher can have on a student, and likewise, the impact that a student can have on a teacher. It's a mutualistic relationship, really. When I look at everything the kids planned...the party, the cards, the cheering in the parade, I like to think that I did impact them in one way or another. But when I look back at everything I learned from them, I come to think that they impacted me in so many more ways. Not simply because they gave me a glimpse of what the future as a teacher looks like, but because their energy F I L L E D me with energy, and I think that’s the absolute best and most important part of teaching.
It's once that student-teacher connection has been established that the "job" becomes more than just a "job". You begin sensing their energy, and their energy turns into purpose for you, purpose that goes beyond simply giving a kid a grade. Miss. Mattison pinpointed it in a comment she made on one of my previous blog entry: "you become their coach, not just in the academic sense, but with friendships, stress, learning to organize, priorities, etc.". If I think back to my childhood, I can easily remember the name of all of my teachers since EC4. Why? Because in some way or another they were all my coach for a year; a different coach for each different stage of my life. Getting the chance to be a coach with Ms. Caro's class, even if it was just for three weeks, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
It's once that student-teacher connection has been established that the "job" becomes more than just a "job". You begin sensing their energy, and their energy turns into purpose for you, purpose that goes beyond simply giving a kid a grade. Miss. Mattison pinpointed it in a comment she made on one of my previous blog entry: "you become their coach, not just in the academic sense, but with friendships, stress, learning to organize, priorities, etc.". If I think back to my childhood, I can easily remember the name of all of my teachers since EC4. Why? Because in some way or another they were all my coach for a year; a different coach for each different stage of my life. Getting the chance to be a coach with Ms. Caro's class, even if it was just for three weeks, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.