Category: aha moment

aha moment, Be the change, new teacher

You are Not Alone – Lisa’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp

This weeks aha moment is shared by Lisa Dabbs one of the most inspiring and essential members of my PLN.  She is an Educational Coach and Consultant and also a former Elementary School Principal and Fed Prog.administrator. Lisa has a B.A. in Child Development and a M.Ed in Educational Administration. but started  her career as a Kindergarten teacher. She has also worked as a Project Director of a Language and Literacy program. Lisa is also the creator of the new teacher chat on Twitter #ntchat, which is NOT just for new teachers and involved in many other projects.  More importantly, Lisa is a friend and mentor to many and I was honored to have her share her moment with us.  Her blog is a must add to your RSS and she is always a must follow to any new educators that stumbles upon Twitter.  




Teaching  and Mentoring are my Passions!
Sometimes though, good teaching is lost in the busyness of life or due to challenging times, struggling students, feisty kids or tragically; lack of support.


Today is the sharing of my Aha moment. I’m so honored to be asked by Pernille Ripp to guest post on this “moment”. The moment I truly knew that I needed to start a “blog to mentor”. This came in February of this year when I sent a response to a young, new, would be teacher who posted on an education website that she was “Losing hope”…


The teacher will remain anonymous, but the cry for help is so typical of many, creative, enthusiastic  teachers I’ve met over the years. Starting their careers passionate about teaching, only to be cut off at the knees by one simple fact: the lack of a mentor who is willing to support, guide and inspire.


The teacher started the post by saying that they had a dream. A dream to be the best teacher they could be. To be the kind of teacher that students would be inspired by. Unfortunately, there were no clear expectations set for this teacher, and worse, no support. This teacher’s perception was that they would be supported, as a first year teacher. Not an unfair expectation by any means. Instead they were placed in a “sink or swim” position. So this teacher sank. And so did my heart…This is absolutely not what you do to new teachers.


Here is a bit of the response that I posted to this young teacher who asked for “positive and encouraging words”:
When I read your words, “I believe I was under the illusion that I had support and help from all angles, when in reality, I hadn’t felt more alone and lost.” My heart went out to you. I was an elementary school principal for 14 years. During those years, I consistently spent time mentoring, supporting, guiding my teachers. If you read the research on why young people like yourself leave the teaching profession, it turns out that it is exactly for those reasons you describe. A school should work to foster a culture where its teachers collaborate and learn from one another. This is at the heart of how educators grow as professionals. However, some of my administrative colleagues still struggle with this piece. We need to do so much better.


I entered the teaching profession at 24 as a Kindergarten teacher. I was fortunate to have come from a long line of educators. However, even with this “DNA” I still encountered a great deal of frustration and anxiety in my first year. I too am a VERY creative person, and I had many ideas about how I wanted to teach my class. I quickly learned, by observing the culture of my school, and having to share a classroom, that I had to harness that creativity into focused, structured, well designed lesson plans. I did so by incorporating those creative ideas in such a way that measurable outcomes were clear and evident. This meant including, sadly, assessments of my Kinders, even “back in the day.” I used a few highly recommended teaching tools from my Child Development course work, as well as others that were recommended to me. I also asked to “observe” other teachers at my school to get a feel for, once again, the culture of the school and what was going to be expected of me. I lived and breathed “teaching” those first few years, and spent nights and weekends reading, creating, planning, all things “Kinder.”  The kicker is I too felt very alone, as I did not have a supportive principal, or mentor colleague. My kinder team member was a tenured teacher who believed in “kill and drill” for Kindergarten kids and I was mortified!
The bottom line is that my first few years were rough!

What made me stick it out? I held on to my dream, desire and passion. I held on to the knowledge that I knew the research about what was good for children. I didn’t give up, even when 6 of my 8 K teacher team talked about me behind my back. Did I have a mentor teacher? No. Was it hard? Extremely. But I kept pressing forward because I believed in myself and cared deeply for my students.


We know so much more now about how to retain and support new teachers. The research is very clear and you need a good mentor (or two). You don’t have to stick it out alone, nor should you.
So, in the meantime, I extend a hand to you, as a “creative” tenured educator, if you’d like an on-line mentor. This is my passion. I’m here to offer help and HOPE. Don’t let this one difficult experience defeat you. You are not alone in the “tunnel”. The light is just up ahead. It’s time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the game! I can hear them calling your name!


My Aha moment…my desire to “blog to mentor” and chronicle through photos, interviews and a few short words, what amazing teachers are doing to inspire is still evolving. The heartache this young woman felt, still resonates for me. It continues to motivate me to work to inspire, mentor, equip, teachers to “teach with soul.” I also hold fast to the belief that no educator should have to go through the challenges of the early years of teaching alone…ever. Through my blog and also on Twitter, I hope that I can come alongside and Mentor. The work ahead is challenging…but I’m excited to be on the journey!
When you reflect on your early years of teaching, how did you make it though the tough times? 
So grateful to you, Pernille for inviting me to share, my passion.
aha moment, Be the change, students

Embrace All Your Opportunities – Joan’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
This week’s Aha Moment is shared by Joan Young, one of the first people to reach out to me on Twitter; I am thrilled and honored that she said yes to do this knowing how busy she is.  Joan writes that she is a teacher who feels like a “new teacher” again this year after changing grade levels and schools. She is passionate about viewing students from a “strengths perspective” and hopes to give her students a positive classroom experience where they will not only learn the “required curriculum” but also learn about themselves as learners. Joan teaches 4th grade in a wonderful small school in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her  @flourishingkids on Twitter and also check out her book and CD, 25 Super Sight Word Songs here:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Sight-Word-Songs-Mini-Books/dp/054510582X 



Aha moments: I’ve had my share. When Pernille asked me to write and share about one of them, I initially thought, “Wait, I’m way too busy to take on something else!” And then I realized:  I need to be writing, even during this busy beginning of school time. Writing helps me clarify, categorize and sort my endless rambling of ideas and creative ramblings. I wrote back a few hours later, still a bit shaky about my “Sure, why not?”  Now, nearly a week later, deadline looming on the horizon, I am in a panic, indecisively scanning the archives of this busy mind, trying to figure out which aha moment will be most entertaining, most inspiring or helpful for other educators out there.


This ramble leads me to the biggest “aha” of all. We never stop learning and growing when we embrace opportunities that cross our paths.  Each challenge that falls before us on this incredible journey of life presents us with the opportunity to stretch, grow and be molded into another higher version of ourselves.  We must remain open to the daily “aha” moment and somehow take the time to reflect on it, process it and act on it, so that we can grow. And on that theme I will share my top 5 aha moments that have led me to courageously move ahead on my own path of discovery.

1)      My “aha” moment that led me to be a teacher is one that always stands out in my memory.  I was sitting around that dreaded IEP meeting table, not as a teacher, but as a social worker, an advocate for a foster child on my caseload. As I listened to the condescending talk of the school psychologist, teacher, principal to the overwrought foster parent, who was hanging on by a shred of sanity, I realized something important. Teachers, though trained to “teach” often have not been trained to understand the psychological needs that impact learning. I realized that if I had 20-30 students each year who I could spend 6 hours a day with, and if I could work with teachers, and help them understand their 20-30 kids they spend their days with, then my desire to help could be achieved in a greater way than working with the kids on my caseload, visiting them once a week. Even though I had spent a great sum of money earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, I decided that going back to school for a teaching credential was the best way for me to help kids, my ultimate goal.

2)     Kids are eager to take on challenges and are not “lazy” as I’ve heard teachers call them. When we lower the stress and risk that comes with fear of failing, kids thrive and reach higher than we can even imagine. My post here describes a day when in kindergarten when I was feeling a bit helpless about working with my lowest reading group.

3)   Don’t predict a kid’s future. I am not that “shy” kid I once was and I am happiest when I am creating, sharing and putting this passion for learning into practice.  I always find it amusing to think about the reaction I would have had if someone had told me, that painfully shy 16 year old girl, that my future would involve standing in front of a group of people each day, captivating their attention. If someone had told me that I would one day stand in front of 150 teachers, singing with them and sharing ideas of classroom strategies, I would have said they were crazy! We must not categorize kids as being weak or strong in a certain skill or even a personality trait. Some children have not yet been in the optimal setting to bring about the manifestation of his/her strengths. Each child has his own time frame; the best gift we can give is to provide opportunities for kids to discover, develop and express their passions.


4)    Work does not burn you out when you do what you love! Although I am well aware that I need balance in my life, I must not heed others’ advice to “not think about teaching” on the weekend. When I am engaged in other “non-related” activities, like exercising, driving, talking with my husband,or cleaning I am often brainstorming how I can develop an idea into a lesson.  Do I really need to tell myself that there are only certain hours and days of the week when I am allowed to be creative?

5)    Reach out to others! Teachers are amazingly giving and willing to help out when you have a need. Check out all of the amazing advice when I was setting up my classroom. 


When you reflect on your years in the classroom, what are your most significant moments of self-discovery? Thanks so much Pernille for inviting me to share in this wonderful exploration. 
aha moment, Be the change, students

Don’t React in Anger – Shelly’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp

This week’s Aha Moment is shared by one of my favorite inspirational teachers; Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an English teacher living in Germany who began teaching inner city kids and homeless children in Texas. She is also the co-organizer and co-creator of the educational projects, Edchat and The Reform Symposium Conference. Find more of her challenges on her education blog, Teacher Reboot Camp or in her free e-book, The 30 Goals Challenge. Find her on Twitter, @ShellTerrell.

Teaching in Rough Schools


Teaching in Texas I chose to teach the kids who many have labeled as trouble makers and stupid. Too often in my teaching career, I heard teachers, counselors, and administrators tell me, “Glad I don’t have to teach that kid,” “he/she is trouble,” “he/she won’t amount to anything,” and much worse. I worked as a high school English as a Second Language teacher and did creative writing and poetry programs for many inner city schools, homeless shelters, alternative schools, and juvenile detention centers. I will admit some of these schools were rough and if the teacher did not have a great relationship with the students it could be hell. I knew some teachers who had their tires slashed on a weekly basis and others who had purses, cell phones, and more stolen.

I don’t tell you this to scare you, but to prepare you. At a point in any educator’s career I believe the educator will have an encounter with a student that could escalate to violence. How an educator chooses to handle the situation makes a lasting impact on the future of that student. Ironically, this happened to me at one of the most prestigious schools I taught at and I learned a lot about the situation.

Let me premise this by saying I grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the largest cities in the US. I knew what it was like to have difficult home situations. When I was in the first grade I would often come home from school with black eyes because I would pick fights with the boys and play rough sports. At the time I lived with a relative who was an alcoholic and the violence had a heavy impact on my behavior inspite of the fact I made straight A’s in elementary. My situation was quite tame to what my friends encountered and what later the kids I taught experienced. This is where my empathy for teaching students comes from and why I am so passionate about reaching them. Some day the kids I reach will become adults who can either contribute to their society or be locked in prisons, etc. How I choose to treat them can influence either situation. I take teaching very seriously.

He Threw A Chair At Me


We all get stressed and burdened by our schools. I remember one particularly stressful time when I slept 3 hours a day due to some extra work given to me by the school. Sound familiar? I let the stress impact my mood and this impacted the atmosphere of my classes. Xavier (Not his real name) was fooling around with another student as usual. Xavier had a boisterous personality so I was used to his behavior but that day I didn’t handle it well. I angrily told him to behave, that he was being disrespectful. Saying this in the tone I did in front of all the students made Xavier explode. He threw his desk over and threw a chair towards me. I don’t think he meant to hit me because really he would have hit me. The chair landed at my feet and with a red face I told him to go into the hallway. I played a movie for the rest of the class while I calmed down. I was red faced and angry at being disrespected.

I could have sent Xavier to the principal’s office immediately. He would have been expelled and possibly sent to alternative school. Throwing a chair at a teacher is a serious offense. However, I have worked at alternative schools and found that many of the prison like facilities and the strict discipline usually doesn’t reform the student. Instead, I believe that alternative schools get students used to jail cells. After calming down, I was able to reflect on the situation and realized what I did wrong. I started the events that lead to the escalation of Xavier’s explosion with my mood and also by getting angry with him. Anger is no way to deal with students prone to violent behavior and I was aware of Xavier’s behavior. I chose not to tell my principal and instead went outside and said something along the following lines, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I was stressed and I took it out on you and I apologize. I care about you and know you didn’t mean to react that way. I’m not saying what you did is right at all. You should never throw anything at an adult. What’s going on?”

Xavier then began to tell me about the situation with his father and the pressures he was receiving to either do well in this school or be sent to another one. His father was getting fed up with him. Here I was another adult getting fed up with Xavier as well. After I listened, I recommended Xavier talk with his father and told him I would talk with his dad and put in a good word about the work he was doing. Xavier had been doing well in some projects and I had not let his father know. From this point on, Xavier and I didn’t have anymore incidents. Later, I recieved a thank you e-mail from Xavier who was doing very well at a university. He could have very well sent me an e-mail from prison.

When dealing with student outbursts, what do you choose to do? Do you immediately send them to the principal’s office or do you try to find out what is bothering the student? I hope you try the last alternative, because this is what building relationships take. I believe that when we treat students like adults and talk with them they begin to respect us as adults. We can use these “teachable moments” to show them how to properly react. I think we are taught as educators to jump the gun on punishing students when the ones with the worst behavior problems are suffering with the most intolerable living situations.

Challenge:

Try not to send your students immediately to the principal or write them up. Instead, find a way to turn the situation into a teachable moment. Then blog about the outcome as an example for others.


aha moment, Be the change, students

Show Them You Are Human – George’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
George is a Principal at a K-12 program in Stony Plain, Alberta. On his blog he says, “I learned quickly that as an administrator, you are only as good as the people that are around you.” George perpetually reaches out to new educators, as well as new followers on Twitters and has proven to be a real leader in bringing principals and others together.  He blogs on several sites including his own blog The Principal of Change and the Connected Principals blog.  Follow George on Twitter at @gcouros, you will not regret adding this fantastic initiator to your PLN.

It is easily one of the most vivid moments that I have had as an educator. It is also a moment that I reflect on continuously when looking at my own practice, and helping to guide the practice of others.  It was my first “truck” you.

Okay,  so “truck” was not the term that was said at me, and I am sure that you can figure out what it was.  I had been teaching for 6 years and not one student had ever sworn at me.  I remember other educators telling me when a student swore at them, and it was like a fairy tale to me.  No student would ever do that.  How dare a child swear at a teacher!  I remember having some teachers that I did not like at all, but I would have never sworn at them.  Then it happened to me.

During lunch one day, I worked at my desk that was just tucked outside of the office.  During this time, I would work on course work as I was doing my Master’s degree.  Let’s just say that it was a very BUSY time for me and my life.  Although the door was locked, there was a window where you could see anyone that was in my room.  Sitting in the dark and trying to focus on my work, I wanted to be as unnoticeable as possible.  Feeling as if I should not be uninterrupted in my office, I remember a student knocking on the window as he printed something off in my office.  Being so stressed at this time and wanting to finish my work, I remember nodding my head and shaking “no” to the student.  He knocked again.  Again, I said “no”.  Then it happened.  Through the glass window, Patrick (not his real name), a grade 9 student, mouthed those words to me; “TRUCK YOU!”.

I looked up, and if he did not have my attention before, he had it now. I jumped from my chair, and being a rather large man, Patrick RAN AS FAST AS HE COULD.  Looking back, I was so stressed at this moment, that I am glad Patrick ran.  I was SO mad, hurt and embarrassed.  I was also angry. Very, very angry.

First of all, before I go on with this story, my behaviour towards the student was wrong.  Patrick was treated basically like a second class citizen.  If my principal would have come to the door, I would have popped up and opened it for her.  I would have also opened it for any staff member.  At that time in my life though, I would have not done the same for a student.  This is wrong.  You do not have to spend every moment at school around people.  We all need breaks.  You should always be caring and respectful though.  Always.  Although no one ever deserves to be sworn at, I treated that student wrong.  This was part of my “A-Ha” moment.

As I was furiously looking for Patrick around the school, I remember thinking of all the things that I would do to ensure Patrick’s day would be ruined.  I continued to envision how I would take Patrick to the office, demand his suspension (five day minimum of course) if not his expulsion!  I was so upset.  At this time though, Patrick was gone.  He had fled the school grounds.  He knew I was mad and he was scared.

Eventually I cooled down and realized how hurt I was by the whole incident.  How could a kid have done this to me? No one should be treated this way.  My anger soon turned to hurt.  I did not cry, but it was close.

Patrick came back to school.  Although I did not consciously decide to take a different approach, I did not take Patrick to the office.  I remember seeing Patrick and asking him calmly to speak to him in a side room.  He knew he had done something wrong and saw that I was calm.  When I did talk to him in the office, I started talking as a real person.  I told him that my parents were actually coming to visit the school in the next few days and now I was so embarrassed that a student in our school would say something like this to me.  How could I bring my parents into this environment?  I did not know if I could trust him to show respect in front of my own family.  I told him I was hurt.  I told him I was shocked.  I told him that I would not be able to sleep at night because this happened.  

Patrick saw I was hurt, and being a 14 year old boy, he fully understood the impact it had done to me.  He apologized and started balling at that moment.  I never did march him down to the office because I did not have to.  I felt he had learned from what he had done and that he was going to move on and be better.  I was right.

For the rest of the year, Patrick was THE NICEST kid to me at the entire school.  He went out of his way to say kind things to me and always made sure that he was nothing but respectful.  Not only was he great to me, but I really loved to learn that kid and we would even joke about the “truck you” moment.

My “aha” moment came not immediately after, but through my constant interactions with Patrick.  I thought “what if” I would have taken him to the office.  He probably would have been suspended, but he would have been the “bad” kid according to me, and I would have been the “jerk” teacher to him.  He would have never realized that I was actually a real person, but just “some teacher” who was rude and disrespectful to him (which I was).  I talk about this with staff when discussing bring students down to the office.  How many times have we taken kids to someone else to “deal” with and then lost out on the opportunity to connect and work with them through something.  Separating yourself from kids because they have done something wrong shows them that they do not need you at all.  There are definitely cases where students need to go to the office, but as the people “on the spot”, we should try to learn with these students together.  I do my best to get to know kids, but I will never know them as well as their homeroom teacher.

I also learned that it is much easier to teach a student about right and wrong when you do it from a humanistic perspective.  Being the “authority” often turns people away from you.  Showing that you are a person with feelings though, makes it a lot harder for a person to continue to be disrespectful.

From this moment, I know that I focus on treating everyone how I would want to be treated, especially students.  They need to feel loved and cared for and know they are the reason we are there.  I also learned that working with a student through their mistakes is not a pain, but an opportunity to teach something way more meaningful than what is in our curriculum.  I guarantee Patrick will remember that incident just as vividly as I have, and do his best to respect those around him.  Yes, some of these incidents are tough to deal with, but if you are expecting your job just to be easy moments, you are in the wrong profession.  Do not treat these moments as hassles, but into opportunities to connect and learn with your students.  Most importantly, be yourself.  Showing yourself as a human will not only shed a different understanding on you by your students, it will also make your job more rewarding.  Enjoy the kids you work with and appreciate that every moment you are in school, you are learning.  

I learned more about good education practice from those two words that day, than I had in several years of university.  Who would have thought those two words would have had such an impact.  My two words back? Thank you.
aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher

Don’t Be a Worthless Ball of Goo – Jeremy’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
This week’s Aha moment is shared by Jeremy Macdonald, a 5th grade teacher in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Besides opening minds of 5th graders he is also in charge of professional development at his school in regards to technology integration and can be found on twitter under @MrMacnology.  He has a fabulous wife and 3 wonderfully crazy kids.  A fellow grade slayer, deep thinker, and just one of the boys, his blog always inspires me to do better, strive for more, and just overall think about why I do what I do.


I’ve never looked back since that day.  I remember the rush that I felt.  There was no doubt in my mind.  It was my epiphany; my “Aha!” moment.  I finally knew what I was going to do for (essentially) the rest of my life…

(Camera fades out, flashback a la Wayne’s World.)

Since I was eight I wanted to be an F.B.I. agent.  My dad did it.  My uncle did it.  Several of my dad’s cousins did it.  I had a family heritage to uphold.  Shortly after graduating high school, I was getting ready to enroll for my first semester of college.  I was going to study psychology.  I wanted to “understand” the perps I would soon be investigating and apprehending.  I dreamt of closets full of dark suits and guns.  I was ready for shootouts and car chases.  I clicked the final “Submit” button and I was enrolled.  A few introductory psych classes along with a few other generals.

Jumping ahead a few months, I found myself sitting in front of that same computer screen, but this time in my dorm room.  I had about seven minutes before my first class started, but my room was at least a fifteen minute walk away.  What was I doing?  Why was my hand ready to click “Clear All” below my class schedule?  I really didn’t know WHAT I wanted to do.  Had I deceived myself with countless hours of the X-Files and Unsolved Mysteries?  I believe I had.  So I clicked.

Here I was, no classes, tuition paid, books bought, on the first day of school, and I was clueless.  Not exactly the best feeling.  Something led me to my university’s school of Fine Arts and Communications.  After a few minutes (and I mean this literally) of consideration, I was now a Communications Major, with a focus in Advertising and copy writing.  I was always day dreaming, doodling, and coming up with silly stories while growing up.  I thought that Advertising would be a great way for me to use this creativity for the greater good…(especially since I wouldn’t have to shoot anybody now.)

(Cue soft piano music and chimes)

(Camera fades out, and through a light fog, camera fades back in.)

So here I am after a two-year hiatus after my freshman year, newly married, and looking to explore a bit of Business and Finance before I commit to Advertising.  I loved being able to create, write, and laugh at most everything I did, but I was also a numbers guy and money had always interested me.  I enrolled in some basic business classes like Econ 110 and Accounting 101, in addition to my continued pursuit of Advertising.

It was the middle of the semester and Norm Nemrow was giving his famous “Sixth Lecture.”  He had nine required lectures during the semester–the rest of the learning was done on the computer and in the lab.  The “Sixth” was the one every Accounting major remembered.  It had nothing to do with accounting, actually.  It was a life-lessons lecture.  Norm talked to us about making life decisions based on our passions and what made us happy and not based on money or the endless pursuit of it.  Now this came from a man that was easily worth nine figures before he was 40!  Easy for him to say, right?  But in reality it was, and he meant every bit of it.

Norm, too, had an “Aha” moment.  He realized one day during retirement (remember, this was before he was even 40 years old) that he was a “worthless ball of goo”–his words, honest.  He had done nothing with his life since retiring and felt that he had more of a purpose to fulfill.  Long story short, he started teaching at the university.  For free.  And it was during that fabled “Sixth Lecture” that I learned all this, but it was what he was about to say that struck a chord.

“If I could go back and start over, I would have started right here, in the classroom.  I should have started as a teacher.”

(Cue light bulb.  Student “A”–that’s me–gazes towards ceiling with thoughtful expression)

Big words from a man that could fund a stimulus bill all on his own.  I knew he meant it though, and that’s when I said, “Aha!”  I literally had to keep myself from standing up and leaving.  I was ready to change majors and step into a classroom of my own.  Why had it taken so long for me to see this?  Psychology?  Advertising?  Business?  Who was I kidding?  What better place for a hyperactive daydreamer with a love for pencil fights than an elementary classroom?  I was a shoe-in.

(Cue sentimental piano/violin music a la the end of an After-school Special)

So here I am.  Over seven years since that day and I’ve never looked back; never second guessed; never regretted that decision.  It’s strange how life leads you down the most obscure paths before you “find your way.”

I will soon be starting my fifth year in the classroom and I think I’m more excited now than I have ever been.  Much of this anticipation is due to the marvelous PLN that I’ve been able to build over the last several months.  From Twitter to Blogs to #rscon10, I have been able to experience growth as an educator, and a learner, than I have at any other point in my career.  I am grateful for friends and colleagues like Pernille who drive me to think differently about learning and encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing.

(Fade to black)
aha moment, Be the change, students

Love Them Before You Know Them- Greta’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp

Greta Sandler who is an elementary level English as a Second Language teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina shares this week’s “Aha” moment.  She fell in love with the English language as a child and continues to be passionate about teaching and technology.  As a child she decided to become an ESL teacher but it was as an adult that the road ahead suddenly became clear.  Follow this passionate educator on Twitter at @Gret and keep an eye out for her very own blog coming soon.
I can still remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was my first day at a new school and my first year as an elementary teacher. My lifetime dream was coming true. So special was this day that everything around me was inspiring. I could savor every minute, every second there… just thinking of what it would be like, trying to imagine each of my new students, wondering if I would be able to connect with them, if I would be able to get the best from them. It was that day when I heard a teacher say a magical phrase, “The secret for a successful connection with students is loving them before actually meeting them.”  For some reason, that phrase stayed in my mind. I wondered what she had meant by that, I couldn’t actually figure it out, but it just felt special.

When I was assigned my group, I found out that there was a boy in my class, Thomas, who had an average performance, but serious behavior problems. What’s more, he was about to be expelled from school. I was sure there was a reason for his attitude. Little did I know that the reason would break my heart; it turns out that Thomas had been a victim of sexual abuse some years before. I didn’t know that kid, but he was already my favorite student. I talked to the other teachers, but only heard things such as: “I hate that kid,” “Don’t waste your energy on him,” or “It’s a hopeless case.” Needless to say, that was one of the saddest moments in my teaching career. In his record, all I could find were terrible comments and tons of dark, colorless and aggressive drawings he had made… Everything I read, everything I heard, and everything I saw only made me want to help him more and more.

School started and I finally met my class. Thomas didn’t exactly behave well, but it wasn’t as bad as people had pictured it. I tried to connect with him from the very first moment. I would spend time talking with him, making silly jokes and just showing him I cared. Every now and then, I assigned him important roles, so I could show him how much I trusted him. I always remember calling him Tom, instead of Thomas, for the first time.  I can still see his face glowing, when he came to me and whispered: “I had never had a nickname before.”  I would have never imagined that such a small gesture would touch his heart.

I must admit, I was really surprised when he came to me after a couple of months and said he was willing to improve on his behavior. Not only did he try really hard, but he would also ask me at least once a day if his behavior was OK or not. In addition to this, his grades began to improve and his attitude changed. He started to make friends and he was finally able to participate in class, share his stories and speak his mind. Soon after, everyone started calling him Tom. I saw small changes in him almost every day. 

I was truly touched one day, when I arrived to my classroom and found a beautiful drawing on my desk. Someone had made a drawing of me with a big pink heart on my chest. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realized who had drawn it. I couldn’t hold the tears when I found this note on the back: “Miss Greta, I love you. Tom”

As months passed by Tom had become a brand new kid. He didn’t behave perfectly, but his attitude was different. He was passionate about learning and eager to keep making progress. It was just motivating seeing him play with his classmates during break time.  Apart from that, his grades had significantly improved and by the end of the year he was one of the best students in the class.
At the end-of-year ceremony, Tom was given an award for his effort and improvement. While he was receiving the well-deserved certificate, I could see his parents and grandparents looking at him so proudly with tearful eyes. That was my “Aha” moment. It was then that I understood how powerful connecting with our students is. It was then, that I finally understood what the phrase I had heard in the beginning of the school year meant.

This experience has totally changed my outlook on teaching. It made me realize how powerful our job is.  I learned that teaching is more than just following a curriculum. We get to touch people’s hearts; we get this unique opportunity of making someone’s life different by giving them tools to be better, by teaching them to believe in themselves and by showing them they are special and unique. It’s by showing them we care that we’ll get to do the most. It’s by loving them that we’ll be able to make them flourish.