Today went much better than yesterday. As the busses arrived
this morning, the children all came into school with smiling faces and a lot to
tell me about. Some even gave me hugs. One of the greatest parts about being in
kindergarten is that these kids really don’t have much of a filter, so I really
hear everything.
As The Polar Bear Team (that’s my kindergarten classroom’s
name) walked from the front of the building to our classroom, I was sure to
greet every other child in the hallway that I encountered.
I don’t know why, but I am so drawn to see a smile on every
child’s face. I was once told that I have the ability to make or break a
child’s day. Ever since I have heard that, I’ve taken it seriously. Whether it
is one of my students, my little sister, or a little kid in my neighborhood, I
try to find a way to make them feel good about themselves. Sometimes it’s not
easy, but most of the time I get a smile or a laugh. And as I see that smile
start to form on their faces, my heart becomes so warm.
What I found is that making others feel good about
themselves makes me feel good about
myself.
I’ve already started to make things hard for myself. In life
there are always going to be certain people that you are drawn to and others
who you aren’t. For one reason or another, we are all attracted to different
kinds of people. In school, this is called favoritism.
It’s something that no teacher wants to have or to show to their students.
Lucky for me, I’ve not shown my favoritism, but have already
been drawn to different children in our classroom for trait or another.
Surprisingly they aren’t the kids who I thought they would be like the kids who
blend in. They are the children who stick
out. Surely I thought it would be those students who were so sweet and
adorable you wanted to take them home. Or even the students who were super
smart and understood everything.
Nope.
The children who I am drawn to are the kids who talk out of
turn, can’t sit still, are quiet, shy, and are oblivious to what’s going on
around them. These children I can empathize with. I used to be one of the kids
that always talked out of turn and had no idea what was going on because I was
talking to my neighbor all the time.
It wasn’t until I sat at my teacher’s desk in fifth grade so
many times that I started to get sick of my own voice.
The children who I am drawn to are like my little ugly
ducklings. Right now, to most, they might seem different and awkward, and maybe
they are. However I believe that loving them and all the other students
unconditionally, I can assure you that as the year progresses, they will change
colors into something beautiful and learn how to fly.
I'm the same way, always drawn to kids with behavior issues, to put it bluntly. It's so rewarding to see them make progress as you get to know them! One time last year when I was feeling frustrated I wrote down each kid's name in my class and one positive thing about them. It really helped to not show favoritism and to find good in everyone.
ReplyDelete