Ever Since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to grow up to be a teacher someday. I would pretend play and act as though I was a teacher all the time growing up. I had an amazing kindergarten teacher who was the kindest of the kind. I looked up to her and still today I hope to be as good as teacher as she was. Now, I have an amazing college teacher. She has taught for many many years in all grades. She tells us about her experiences with many poverty schools. This teacher is one that just "get's it" so she teaches us so we can "get it" too. I wanted to share with you a story she shared with us about a little boy. (Remember this is from a poverty school in a town where families didn't have much.)
In the Summer when this teacher received her list of students she was going to have when school started up, everyone told her, "Oh good luck with him, he is trouble!". They were talking about a particular boy who never had a chance from the beginning because he had that label. This particular outstanding teacher wrote each one of her future kiddos a short letter each a little different. To the boy she wrote somthing similiar to this, "Dear _______, I look forward to having you in my classroom. I know we are going to have a lot of fun this year. Love, _________" The very first day of school that little boy came to her and took out a folded piece of paper. It was the letter he had kept all summer long and he said, "Is this really for me?? Is this supposed to have someone else's name on it? Have you not heard about me from the other teachers?" My teacher told him yes that note was for him and she was looking forward to having a great school year. Right then that boy knew he had a chance. My teacher set up a system for this boy to succeed. I can't remember the details but she set a goal for him and if he reached that goal my teacher and her husband would take him bowling. He reached the goal and my teacher went to pick him up to take him bowling. When they arrived at the boys house, she knocked on the door and the screen literally fell down. A lady answered the door and said, "Who are you, what do you want?". My teacher explained that she was going to take the boy out for bowling. The lady said, "Why do you want to do that, he ain't good for nothin." My teacher did take him bowling and she knew she had to do somthing about the boys living situation. She contacted civil services. She called the second day to follow up on it. She contacted them the third day. She called and called until that boy was safe. She found out the little boy and his sister had been sexually abused by the father. The boy no longer lives in that household. It's no wonder that boy may have acted out in school and it just takes one teacher to give him a chance.
I stumbled upon this video recently....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q4zldF_AS4
Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. As a future teacher I promise myself I will be just like my kindergarten teacher and my college professor. I will give each and everyone of my darlings a chance. There will be no labels. I pray there are no issues like my teachers story and this video but I am sure there will be sometime in my career. If and when that time comes, I will NOT be one that lets this happen, "Alyssa lies with Jesus because there's nothing anyone would do."
If you aren't a teacher, you can help too! Some things I have learned to watch for are long sleeves and turtle necks when it's warm, a lot of makeup that looks like they might be trying to cover something, bruises, and actions. Abuse isn't only in children, it's in teens and even adults.
As another one of my teachers told me, I am aware teachers don't make a lot of money. I won't have a mansion, a butler with a white towel over his arm, or Ferarris in my garage. What I will have is somthing much greater than all that, and that's what I will have inside me, in my heart.
(I hope this post isn't too sad or brings you down because it shouldn't. Be happy, you can make a difference in someone's like, and that is exciting!)
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