Told Them So

Today was a day that I was reminded how magical it is to be a teacher. Maybe I should say, I was reminded how we, as teachers, can make our students feel like they are the most important person in the world. This is so crucial in educating children. 

You know those people. In your group of friends and family, there is usually one of them. The person that you converse with and somehow you feel like you are the most important person. You are the only one that matters....your thoughts...your feelings.....you are special. They hear every word you say.

Every child should have this moment in your classroom. It’s the moment where you connect with your student. I’ve seen it.  I’ve been a part of it. I’ve listened to many students go on about pets, stuffed animals, annoying siblings, boring weekends, pokemon cards, etc. It’s sometimes hard to listen to. If you’re a teacher, you might be smiling right now because you have heard these same stories. You have a hundred things to do, a million things on your mind, and Johnny wants to tell you about this super cool video game that he played, his invasion of Mars, and interaction with aliens with super lasers.  The caring, effective teacher will stop and listen.  The teacher will make comments, ask questions, and get excited when Johnny says he beat the video game after a short 12 hours. It’s not easy, but we have to do it. We should want to do it.  The caring teacher would. 

EVERY STUDENT should feel like they are the most important student in your classroom, most important child in the world. 

Today was a reminder of this. I stopped by the school that I taught third grade at last year. I needed to drop some things off to another teacher. I didn’t want to disrupt any classes so I tried to sneak in and out without any students noticing.  But then it happened.  I was spotted by a student. How can you not feel overjoyed when a student erupts in a song and dance when they see you? The P.E. teacher, Mr. J invited me to pop my head in class and say hello to my former students.  All I needed was the invitation, and I was all about disrupting the class!  

After googling over how tall and how mature each one had gotten, I said my goodbyes and waved as I left. I heard one of my students say that he thought he would never see me again. That’s when I turned and said. “I told you that I would always check up and look out for you.” The class gasped.  Eyes popped. I’m not sure if they didn’t remember or didn’t believe me when I said that I will always be their teacher. They will only ever have one third grade teacher (so we hope) and that was me.

Yup, I think I got them.  Told them so....