neat moments

This is a tough time of the year to be a teacher. Sure we've had snow days and Spring Break is just around the corner, but we are entering testing season which marks the beginning of end of the school year.  It feels like we are all losing steam - kids and teachers alike, and it's hard to appreciate the really sweet moments when you are reprimanding students for telling their friends to "shut up" for the 18th time in class. The end is in sight, but it will be a crazy ride before we reach our final destination.

I don't spend enough time talking about the sweet moments I share with my students. Unfortunately, I too often allow the bad to overshadow the good. And there is a lot of good... Like today.

I have a particular student who is a little different than most of my other kids. He has an adult personality and doesn't always get along with others. His clothes don't fit well and he is terribly unorganized. He is often the victim of bullying, but doesn't take anything from anyone. He beats to his very own drum. Until this year I had in idea I had a hole in my heart that only this child and all of his quirks could fill.

I usually have him sit by himself. It's always felt like the "best solution" to ease the tension between his personality and the other kids.

Today was different.

I had a student ask me privately if she could go sit by him. She said she just wanted to. I said yes as long as she asked and he said it was okay. She knew it would be, and she was right.

What unfolded over the next hour and fifteen minutes was almost magical.

They worked on their notes together. They visited. (Almost toooo much at times, but I couldn't find it in me to discourage it.) They were the best of shoulder partners.

And he had one of the most genuine smiles I have ever seen etched across his face. His day was made. He had been chosen.

I called her up at the end of class to tell her what I'd seen. A smile. A day made. She said that just yesterday another girl had been picking on him. She stood up to her and got called some pretty mean names but didn't care a bit. She just knew that she was supposed to sit next to him today.

It was brave and bold and made this teacher so proud.

I saw Jesus in a fifteen year old girl today. She accepted and she loved without fear of persecution from her peers.

She made a difference.

As a teacher, this is hands down the neatest, sweetest moment I have been privileged to witness, and I can't wait for more.