***BRAG POST***

I'm going to start by saying that a lot of this particular post is going to sound like a big, old pat on the back for me, but, I can assure you that it is much more than that and does indeed serve a purpose.

At our school, we invite the entire freshmen class and their parents to come in the last night of Summer vacation to meet and greet the teachers. A few years ago, on this night, I had a young man come in with his grandmother and I asked him his name. He told me and it was followed up with this conversation:

Me: Well, student, it is very nice to meet you! Are you excited for your freshmen year!!?!?
Him: No, school is stupid.
Me: Awww...Come on! School is great! It is my favorite place in the whole world! At the very least, I can promise you a great year in Spanish!
Him: No you can't.
Me: Sure, I can. Spanish is the best! You will be speaking it before you know it!
Him: I ain't going to learn no F*^%ing Spanish. I'm telling you it is stupid.

Ill be honest in saying that I was at a loss for words. I even went as far as calling the school counselor on the way home from school crying about how awful this experience would be. The next day, I tried to smooth things over. I went out of my way to make him feel welcome. And, again, my positive attitude and offer to help was denied.

Day after day, week after week I chipped away at this situation. And, he didn't make it easy on me. He stopped bringing paper to class and never had a pen. So, every day I would walk over to his desk and hand him a new sheet of paper and a new writing utensil. I kept his textbook under my desk to give back to him each day, and I would make sure he was as involved as every other student. Some days he would push me in terms of his behavior and out in the hallway we would talk about how I refused to give up on him. That I saw a kid with a bright future ahead of him and that I would do EVERYTHING in my power to make it harder for him to fail than to succeed.

We really came head to head when it became time for him to do his family tree project. At this point, he was adamant about failing the class. I knew I had to do something creative, and, so I offered him an opportunity to do a family tree of my Foreign Exchange Student's family (see my post on inviting FE Students to be TAs) . This particular student was from Colombia, and what took place during these two weeks was quite magical...

These boys bonded, to an extent that all the sudden Spanish wasn't something my amigo was so obstinate about any more. Little by little he would raise his hand in class and he would ALWAYS allow my TA to be his speaking partner. I saw,after months and months of trying, that wall come down.

The following year, he took my Spanish 2 class. Still a little on the rocky side, but, our good days outweighed the bad. I made sure to send as many positive emails home as possible and made sure HE knew that I cared not only about his performance in my class but ALL classes and that I wasn't going to go away. In fact, as a way to prove that to him, I extended him an invitation to pay forward the gift that was given to him by our dear Colombian. The opportunity to TA--and he took it!

Now this young man hangs out with me every day, tutoring, inspiring kids and teaching ALONGSIDE me. He tells my kids that "Spanish is cool as long as you stay positive" and that "You can try to give up, but, Miss Rad and I will be right there to pick you back up" . When I have a sub, he teaches. And, most of the time the kids in my class ask HIM to help them instead of me--and, every time it happens, my heart grows three sizes larger.

So far, this is has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. Never before did I think I could care THIS much. And, truth be told, this guy isn't rare. We all have kids like this and you never know how your class and attitude will affect a student and his/her life. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that every student deserves to be known and valued and that a little bit of adult attention, a kind heart and a helping hand can go a long way.