Finally...

Sorry it's been so long, faithful readers. I turned everything in for Fall term today, and I'm feeling extremely relieved. I can finally turn my attention to the other things I love in life (besides homework) and that includes blogging. I want to start my collection of stories from the classroom...

I have spent two months in a first grade classroom now, and taught full time for four weeks. When I was teaching, I was solo, so my mentor teacher was out of the room (for the most part). I was surprised by how easy it was to lead the classroom, and how tricky it was to multitask. Some days I completely forgot to post attendance. Other days I forgot to watch the clock and barely cleaned up the activity in time to get the kids to recess. Teaching is certainly a juggling act, and its true: teachers do have eyes in the back of their heads (otherwise known as sensitive hearing and peripheral vision).

My favorite story so far illustrates the intensity of young friendship between two boys. I first noticed Ian because he just wasn't completeing the task at hand: a number writing worksheet. After a couple reminders that didn't have any effect, I asked him to move to another table to finish his work, thinking that he was too distracted by his friend, Aaron, sitting across from him. When I noticed that Ian still wasn't completing his work, I stopped to ask him what was going on. He explained:

"I'm worried about Aaron."

"Why?"

"He said his dad's gonna kill him, and I don't want him to die. He's my favorite friend in the whole class."

Ian's face betrayed his sincerity.

A little background: I knew Aaron was in trouble at home. Recently, he had brought some cash to school and philanthropically distributed it to other boys in class, much to the dismay of his parents. My mentor teacher, Sue, and I were still in the process of recovering all the cash from the boys that received it.

Back to Ian's concern, I responded,

"I know Aaron's dad is a little mad at him right now, but his dad would never hurt him. Aaron's dad loves him so much, and even though he feels angry right now, he loves Aaron with all his heart, so you don't have to worry. Sometimes dads say things they don't really mean."

Ian's face was masked with a far-away thoughtful look, weighing the likelihood of Aaron's dad loving him enough to not kill him. He finally responded,

"Okay, but I'm gonna watch and see if Aaron comes to school tomorrow. I really hope he does. He's my favorite friend."

About that time, Aaron walked up to us and I said, "Aaron, your dad's kind of mad at you right now, isn't he?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling and looking down.

"But he would never ever hurt you. You know he loves you, even when he's mad, right?"

"I know."

I looked at Ian. "See? Aaron knows his dad loves him too much to ever hurt him. He loves him so much that he really wants Aaron to learn from the mistake he made. Do you think you can get back to work now, and finish that worksheet?"

Ian looked back at his paper and nodded. I walked away thinking,

"Aaron, you better come to school tomorrow, no matter what, because I don't know what to tell Ian if you don't!"

Aaron had no unfortunately timed absences, and Ian's fear subsided quickly. Their friendship is still strong. In fact, I'm impressed by all the frienships I watched form between many of the boys. Their affection is so effusive, sincere and artless, a perfect expression of love.

...more stories to come.