I have been teaching for 18 years now, ten as a homeschooling mom and eight as a preschool teacher. As a teacher you have some days that are AMAZING and then you have some days that well, aren't so amazing. Almost always though, I ask myself on the way home, Did I make any sense today? Was I able to make a difference in someone's life? Were today's lessons meaningful?
Well, today was special. I came home to a wonderful e-mail...
I also wanted to let you know that on the way home from school, _____ said he needed to go home and do chores so he could earn money for a child's wheelchair. He came home and cleaned the playroom (which is no easy task in my house), his room (under his bed and dressers), he cleaned up trash in our yard and did recycling. He is very excited about this project! :)
For the teacher part of me this is like getting a home run, not due to anything on my part, but I get to be in the stands watching the home runs God is hitting. I just get to be there and that is exciting! Don't you agree that a five year-old coming home from school acting this way has to be an act of God!
As a momma, it can be hard to watch your child work so hard, but I can already picture my sweet boy's face tomorrow at Circle Time proudly handing me the money he earned and telling me how he did it. It already brings a smile to my face :) We already have 59 butterflies (one for every dollar raised) going down our hallway and tomorrow, my sweet boy will proudly be part of it. That makes my whole year as a teacher!
I had another highlight today that makes me smile. I was sharing with the children, How to be a Friend to Someone with a Physical Disability from Joni Eareckson Tada's book, On a Roll for Jesus!
She gives very helpful suggestions on how to treat someone in a wheelchair with respect. One of the suggestions is, Look past the wheelchair or whatever physical disability the person has. It is okay to look at the individual. Later in the morning I asked the children to recall the suggestions and one of my student's interpretation of that suggestion was, Don't stare at someone's boo-boo's!
The student that made this comment has one of the biggest hearts in the world. He is a good friend. He is compassionate. He is self-sacrificing. He has remnants of childlike speech and looked up so innocently and said, Don't stare at someone's boo-boo's! It may not be politically correct to say it this way, but I love the refreshing simplicity of a child's perspective. An adult would need a long politically correct explanation, but a child just says what is on their mind. I think I have the best job in the world (including the days I get sneezed on!)
Well, today was special. I came home to a wonderful e-mail...
I also wanted to let you know that on the way home from school, _____ said he needed to go home and do chores so he could earn money for a child's wheelchair. He came home and cleaned the playroom (which is no easy task in my house), his room (under his bed and dressers), he cleaned up trash in our yard and did recycling. He is very excited about this project! :)
For the teacher part of me this is like getting a home run, not due to anything on my part, but I get to be in the stands watching the home runs God is hitting. I just get to be there and that is exciting! Don't you agree that a five year-old coming home from school acting this way has to be an act of God!
As a momma, it can be hard to watch your child work so hard, but I can already picture my sweet boy's face tomorrow at Circle Time proudly handing me the money he earned and telling me how he did it. It already brings a smile to my face :) We already have 59 butterflies (one for every dollar raised) going down our hallway and tomorrow, my sweet boy will proudly be part of it. That makes my whole year as a teacher!
I had another highlight today that makes me smile. I was sharing with the children, How to be a Friend to Someone with a Physical Disability from Joni Eareckson Tada's book, On a Roll for Jesus!
She gives very helpful suggestions on how to treat someone in a wheelchair with respect. One of the suggestions is, Look past the wheelchair or whatever physical disability the person has. It is okay to look at the individual. Later in the morning I asked the children to recall the suggestions and one of my student's interpretation of that suggestion was, Don't stare at someone's boo-boo's!
The student that made this comment has one of the biggest hearts in the world. He is a good friend. He is compassionate. He is self-sacrificing. He has remnants of childlike speech and looked up so innocently and said, Don't stare at someone's boo-boo's! It may not be politically correct to say it this way, but I love the refreshing simplicity of a child's perspective. An adult would need a long politically correct explanation, but a child just says what is on their mind. I think I have the best job in the world (including the days I get sneezed on!)
No comments:
Post a Comment