I'm a Title I teacher here in Hutchinson, Kansas at Lincoln Elementary. OK, I admit to my bias right up front, but I believe Lincoln Elementary to be the best school ever. If I didn't feel that way, then I'd call that a problem, friends.
In my job, I see lots of different kids from all of the classes, K-6 and actually, I like it that way! During the course of a 7- hour school day, I might be helping 3rd graders improve their vocabulary skills or listening to 6th graders as they work on becoming more fluent readers. Some days you might find me in the kindergarten room helping those little people with learning the "abc's" or their numbers. If I'm REALLY lucky, I get to actually just sit down and visit with a kid about nothing in particular.....just about what life is like for them. Those visits are some of the most precious and rewarding experiences a teacher can have.
Friends, I have the very best job on earth...and if I truly didn't feel that way, I'd never have left my early retirement over a year ago now. I teach, advise, guide, and encourage children to do their best every day. I work with a great staff of folks who do the same and when the day is over we go home to our own families. The beautiful thing about teaching is that we all love it enough to get up in the morning and do it ALL over again--day after day after day.
And so it was here, in this humble place called "school" that the tables were turned on me today. Take a look at this group of awesome 1st graders shown below:
I help these little guys (and girl) every morning in reading time. I'm always trying to think of different ways to entice them to do their best and today's "menu" called for animal stickers. We'd worked quite a long while and before they left me, I wanted to reward their efforts with a sticker. And here's where my "real lesson" happened.
For some goofy reason, I started to peel off their stickers with my available left fingers--an old "habit" that has worked pretty good for the past 34 years of teaching. Today, not so much. I had forgotten how much I lack in my fine motor skills with my left hand. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me how difficult it was to peel that cute little kitten sticker off of the sheet.....but difficult it most certainly was.
I fumbled with the stiff, crooked fingers of "old lefty", trying my best to grasp even a small corner to start peeling it off. I became frustrated beyond belief and it seemed like minutes were passing by. Suddenly my eyes began to sting and I felt the "world's biggest teardrop" falling down my face. In my mind I was thinking, 'Geesch how pathetic-I can't even peel off a sticker anymore!'
In my shame and embarrassment I explained to the kids that I hadn't been able to use my left hand so good and that I was sorry. I was about to "surrender" when one of them said, "You can do it Mrs. Miller."
Oh, my word friends......Talk about 6 powerful words- YOU CAN DO IT MRS. MILLER! And you know what? I most certainly could. It took about a bazillion times longer than normal and unfortunately the cat sticker I was fumbling with lost a chunk of its long tail, but I DID IT! When I was finished, those 5 kiddos did the craziest thing--they clapped for their teacher. :)
I have learned a lot of lessons during the past four weeks--like just this morning I learned to stop opening up my sweet and lo packets with my teeth while breathing in at the same time. Snorting artificial sweetener (or anything else for that matter) up my nose is SO unappealing to me. LOL Life's lessons in the "one-arm world" are numerous but the one learned this morning will stay with me for some time to come.
From God, just one more of many "wake up" calls since this summer....and by the way, the message came through loud and clear and the message sent was this--God didn't send me to school today to "save and encourage" those 5 kids-rather He sent those 5 kids to school to "save and encourage" me. Hey, talk about feeling most blessed!
I help these little guys (and girl) every morning in reading time. I'm always trying to think of different ways to entice them to do their best and today's "menu" called for animal stickers. We'd worked quite a long while and before they left me, I wanted to reward their efforts with a sticker. And here's where my "real lesson" happened.
For some goofy reason, I started to peel off their stickers with my available left fingers--an old "habit" that has worked pretty good for the past 34 years of teaching. Today, not so much. I had forgotten how much I lack in my fine motor skills with my left hand. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me how difficult it was to peel that cute little kitten sticker off of the sheet.....but difficult it most certainly was.
I fumbled with the stiff, crooked fingers of "old lefty", trying my best to grasp even a small corner to start peeling it off. I became frustrated beyond belief and it seemed like minutes were passing by. Suddenly my eyes began to sting and I felt the "world's biggest teardrop" falling down my face. In my mind I was thinking, 'Geesch how pathetic-I can't even peel off a sticker anymore!'
In my shame and embarrassment I explained to the kids that I hadn't been able to use my left hand so good and that I was sorry. I was about to "surrender" when one of them said, "You can do it Mrs. Miller."
Oh, my word friends......Talk about 6 powerful words- YOU CAN DO IT MRS. MILLER! And you know what? I most certainly could. It took about a bazillion times longer than normal and unfortunately the cat sticker I was fumbling with lost a chunk of its long tail, but I DID IT! When I was finished, those 5 kiddos did the craziest thing--they clapped for their teacher. :)
I have learned a lot of lessons during the past four weeks--like just this morning I learned to stop opening up my sweet and lo packets with my teeth while breathing in at the same time. Snorting artificial sweetener (or anything else for that matter) up my nose is SO unappealing to me. LOL Life's lessons in the "one-arm world" are numerous but the one learned this morning will stay with me for some time to come.
From God, just one more of many "wake up" calls since this summer....and by the way, the message came through loud and clear and the message sent was this--God didn't send me to school today to "save and encourage" those 5 kids-rather He sent those 5 kids to school to "save and encourage" me. Hey, talk about feeling most blessed!
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