My first interactions with I.M. were short and curt. She was in my then-rowdy second period class. She sat near the back and received a detention from me in those early August days. I had to chase her down to serve that detention for weeks. She finally did serve it, after I bothered her every single time she entered my classroom from the hallway (oh! that is such an opportune time to sort out such discipline business with students!).
After a few weeks, I noticed she had a slight bulge in her tummy, and only then did I realize she was pregnant. She is such a soft-spoken girl, and she seems so temperate and modest, that it struck me as sort of a shock that she was “one of those girls.” She is anything but promiscuous or attention-hungry. To me, she is the living definition of humility. I really admire her.
Slowly but surely, my love and admiration for I.M. has grown and grown. Every piece of writing she turns in is thoughtful and poignant beyond belief. I wish so deeply that I could communicate to her how much of a positive example she sets through her simple and constant calm disposition.
I made her student of the month in September after a string of undeniably high-quality assignments she had turned in. In the hall way, I congratulated her regularly for her exemplary written work. It brought a smile to my face every time I read her work to discover how very receptive she was to what I was teaching. Here is an excerpt from her recent writing project below:
“Future Worries”
The thought that my unborn child won’t receive the childhood he deserves creates fear in my heart. This fear lives in my soul because sometimes I feel that I can’t go on like a car with no tires. I worry about things that are beyond my control. I hate that I have to bring him in this dreadful world. It scare me to even think that I won’t be able to see him walk across the stage to receive his diploma. I deal with this by doing things that I know I have to do.
After that, I think she began to trust me somewhat, because she came in for tutoring one evening and sat there with me till 6, just doing homework for other classes. Perhaps she liked a quiet place to work, I really don’t know. I kept wanting to say encouraging things to her, but in the quietness between us, I think my care for her was conveyed.
I.M. is one of my favorite students because of her gentle spirit, sureness about herself and her values, and her compelling writing style. She is a gifted and powerful young woman because of all of these traits. She excels in all her subjects, I have discovered through other teachers, and I wish for her future (and her son’s future) to be blessed abundantly. I pray that her gifts and potential are protected and nurtured by her older brother and mother … may I have the alertness and sensibility to do all I can to encourage her to continue putting forth her very best work.
No comments:
Post a Comment