Today I was emailing my friend at the Board an S.O.S. message. "I need your help. I don't know what to do. I am only one person, and feel like such a failure as a teacher. Truancy. Learning problems. Health problems. Lack of motivation. Haven't seen a page of homework all year. No goals. No personal responsibility. Why am I working so hard, when this kid isn't?!"
I was about to hit "send" when someone knocked on the door of my classroom. It was the mother of the LAST kid who made me feel like a total failure--out of tricks and out of ideas. He's in high school now. He's in BETA CLUB. Straight As.
She brought beanbag chairs for my class. The cutest things you've ever seen, shaped like snowmen. My kids were enchanted. She also had a letter for me.
Don't give up.
Don't get tired.
It matters.
Maybe not now, but eventually.
You're not doing this for nothing.
I deleted the email I was drafting. Maybe tomorrow things will look brighter for my dear one. Eh, realistically, maybe not. :-) But I'm ready to go another round now. Encouragement's like that, huh? Makes me want to write Kaela's and Ben's teachers.
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