Another year finishes with a blur…
After reading a good friend’s post, I started thinking about how reserved I am with my students and how little emotion I tend to share with them. It’s not that I’m cold or detached, or that I don’t feel close to my students. I’m just not the kind of person who knows how to show it, I guess. It’s just that I know they are going up against tremendous odds and are going to have to fight like hell to succeed big. I want to instill in them a strong sense of determination. Because I believe they are going to need that more than almost anything else they will learn in school. I want them to believe in themselves as much as I do. That brings out my serious side more than anything.
So, maybe I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was when so many of them sobbed while watching the slideshow I made for them to the song “World’s Greatest” by R. Kelly. I knew I’d tear up, but I honestly thought they’d all be excited to leave, especially the boys who tend to clown around – yet they were crying the hardest. I had red-rimmed eyes staring back at me and weak voices asking me to not turn the lights back on. The guidance counselor even had to come in to talk and tell them it’s natural to feel sad.
We also had a chat on our last day about what middle school is going to be like, and they asked me about what they should do if gangs try to recruit them or if they’re going to get beaten up. Even though I believe in self-defense, I didn’t feel I could tell a bunch of 11-year-olds how to defend themselves. So I told them there are two very important things: to seek out adults you trust and who believe in you, and to safeguard your reputation. Because if everyone knows you as someone honest and reliable, when you tell them someone is harassing you, they will most likely believe and help you. I told them about how when I was growing up, I had a tendency to tell stories (aka lie), so when some guy allegedly* tried to kidnap me, my mom didn’t believe me until the police showed up at my door. I alluded to times when I’ve had to physically defend myself as a kid, but I stressed that if I didn’t have a good reputation, the adults around me could have easily believed it was just a fight instead of me defending myself. Having adult allies is priceless for a kid. But they totally brought reality back into focus by asking what to do if they can’t find an adult who cares.
Who knew questions from 11-year-olds can really tease apart the contradictions between the things you believe and the things you’re allowed to say. Yeah, maybe that explains today’s hang over :)
*I say allegedly because the police said the guy was mentally handicapped and possibly was just pulling over to ask a random young girl all by herself for directions. Right. Whatever.
