Today was difficult. I had two students who have honesty issues. That’s a nice way of saying they lie to their parents – and me – about homework. Fifth graders! And it’s the end of the quarter, so it’s crunch time. Parent / teacher conferences should be really interesting, especially if we have the little darlin’s present!
The worst of the day was this morning before school. We had a tragedy in Orange County last night – a sheriff’s deputy with marital problems shot and killed his two children, ages 10 and 8, and killed himself. The 10 year old girl was a friend and fellow gymnast of one of my fifth grade girls. I had a heads-up from her mom via e-mail, but it was hard when Sarah walked into the room before school, weeping. I wrapped my arms around her, several other girls came over, and we had a group hug around Sarah.
It was so good to see the compassion and concern that the class showed to Sarah throughout the day. They made a card and gave it to her at the end of the day. The whole class faced Sarah and said in unison, “We’re sorry, Sarah.” Children who had minimal experience with grief, and yet they reached out in their simple way to their friend. The Body of Christ at work in fifth graders…
This golden thread of encouragement continued after school. I had a call from a former fifth grade student in Ft. Myers who is now a freshman at the illustrious University of Florida. Trevor had tracked me down after reminiscing over his fifth grade Summit yearbook. We caught up on family news and he thanked me for a good fifth grade experience. What a great, timely call! Thank you, Lord!
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2 comments:
I've never had a call like that - hope to someday. My first class is in college this year, too. Weird. I don't feel that old.
Thanks for the uplifting reminders! We also saw those moments recently at school when a student (raised and adopted by grandparents, beaten as a child, has a mentally handicapped brother due to abuse) recently lost his house in a huge fire. Our students responded with over 8,000 dollars from their own pockets, a ton of clothes, the community got a house for them, and there are even rumors that they have been nominated for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." What a blessing it is to see students reach out for maybe the first time to someone who is truly in need in our own school community. Yeah, those things are a golden thread to get us through!
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