One of my favorite moments from today happened while another mom and I were presenting an artist and art project to Gracie's second grade class. Andy Warhol was the artist. The kids were to use oil pastels and create color patterns in four separate blocks on a piece of paper. Then, they chose a black stamp that went over top of the pattern. After one boy finished his art project, he looked at the other kids' projects and said he didn't like his. I told him that no one else had a paper that looked just like his and assured him that his was a Dhylan original, never made before and could only be created by him. He looked at his paper for a minute and then I saw a slight smile on his face. It was a very simple and brief encounter with him, and yet, it really lifted my spirits.
One of my all-time favorite moments as a teacher was helping a sixth grade boy realize that he could be a poet. I had given them an assignment to write a poem and publish it in a creative way. One of my students came up to me and said he didn't like the assignment and had no idea how to write poetry. I knew this boy loved skateboarding. When I told him he could write a poem about skateboarding and then publish the poem on a skateboard he designed himself, his face lit up. He went on to create a very cool blue skateboard with his poem written in the middle of it, complete with skateboarding terms. He was very proud of that skateboard.
That is what I love about teaching. Helping a child believe in himself and giving him a moment to feel special. So many good teachers and parents are leaving schools because of Common Core. I tried to leave, too. But our schools need teachers and volunteers who know that school isn't just about Common Core. It isn't just about conquering a twenty step math problem. It isn't just about fiction and nonfiction. It's about caring adults helping children look beyond what they think about themselves, how they see themselves, and the boxes in which they have put themselves. It is about encouraging them to see things in a different way. To spark creativity they didn't know they had. To help them make connections. To give them someone to talk to because no one at home is listening. It is about these things, and so much more!
I'm thankful that even though I am not currently teaching that I am still allowed opportunities to be in the classroom. I really hope Dhylan's art project is hanging on his refrigerator.