I
find it hard to believe that I have been retired from teaching for 17 years. Of
course, when I see my former students on Facebook showing pictures of their
grandchildren, it brings me back to reality. That’s one of the things about
Facebook I most enjoy—seeing those “kids” now grown up and doing well. For some
of them, I wasn’t so sure it would turn out that way.
Most
teachers I know are invested in their students, want the best for them, worry
about them, try to encourage them. So when you have a class load of 120+ kids,
that’s a lot of worrying. I was reminded of that worry yesterday when I was
volunteering at an event for fourth-graders.
One
girl made an impression on me. She was small, with short dark hair and big dark
eyes. As she reached for another cookie, she explained that she was getting it
for her grandmother. We chatted for a while, and I was impressed with her
composure, her conversational skills, and I guessed that she was an older
sister to one of the fourth-graders in the group. When she had left, I asked
her teacher how old she was. Ten! I couldn’t believe how mature she was for
such a young age.
Then
her teacher began to tell me her story. She and her brother were living with
their grandmother because her mother was “drugged out.” Now, however, her
grandmother had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. “What will happen to
them?” I asked. The teacher just shook her head. I could see the pain in her
eyes.
Then
she turned to speak to a boy who had been running around disrupting the group.
“He’s so smart,” she said to me, “and he tests me all the time.”
Suddenly
I was back in front of my students, worried about the sweet young woman who was
being abused by her step father, frustrated by the so bright young man who was channeling
all his energies into gang activities. So many students with real problems that
I could do little about.
These
are the kids that break your heart as a teacher, the ones you want to take home
and nurture, the ones you pray for, the ones who you hope will show up on
Facebook someday with happy stories.
