"Can't" is Like Saying a Bad Word

It's Monday night, week 4 of summer school...week 5 of being in Mississippi...and week 6 since Nolan dropped me off at training! This has been an amazing experience, however I am definitely ready for Saturday to come! It will be tough to say goodbye to my students (most of them anyhow!) because even though I've only had them for 4 weeks, I feel like they are the first of many students to pass through my classroom as a teacher. For this reason, they will always hold a special place in my heart.

I am amazed at some of the changes that students can make in such a short time, and I can't imagine how this will be magnified when I have students for a whole year, or years at a time. My experience with one student in particular has been especially powerful the past few days. This student came into our class a few days late, after he realized that he was in the third grade class instead of the 4th grade class where he was supposed to be. Assignment after assignment was handed in empty, with no effort put in whatsoever. It was a struggle for him to stay awake those first few days, but slowly he started to engage. He is one of two struggling students I work with during our academic intervention time and was constantly throwing down his pencil in frustration, "I can't do this because I'm stupid," "I hate school and I hate teachers because they are all mean." This was a tough thing for me, as his teacher, to swallow but we powered through and together we've found ways for him succeed in huge ways in the classroom. The past 4 days, he has gotten a 100% on my daily quiz. The power of transformation in his life was apparent to me today when one of his fellow students became frustrated on a test and said "I can't do this!" I overheard this special moment, and I'm so glad that I did! He turned to her and said "Mrs. P says that saying can't is like saying a bad word because we are all smart, we just have to work really hard."

That simple statement really sums up my experience as a summer school teacher in the Mississippi Delta. I've learned that no matter how things may seem, every kid is really smart. Every kid needs someone to tell them that and to help them work hard. This is certainly easier said than done, and I'm sure it will prove even more difficult when I start school this fall, but it sure is an encouraging thing as I start this exciting journey of being a teacher!