~in a place like a pig barn~

My life's journey as a teacher has taken me on many roads to places that I had never even heard of before. One of those places was Petrolia, Texas where I spent the last school year as an English/Language Arts teacher at the local elementary school.  While I was there, I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting many different students and teaching them the fine art of writing.  It was a blessing to teach them, but as it has often turned out for me, it was the students who ended up teaching me more than I could have ever hoped to have taught them.

One of those students was a young man named Carson.

Carson was one of my fourth grade home room students last year and I remember him writing and speaking from time to time about his pigs and sheep.  They were animals that he was taking care of and raising up in order to show them and eventually sell to someone else.  That kid always had a smile on his face when he spoke of them and I could tell that he had a really good heart for being a steward of animals such as those.  Once as he was sharing things about them, I told him that I'd love to see them sometime and he said that I should come on out.  

And so I did.

I told Carson that as a farm kid growing up, my parents had pigs as well.  I mentioned to him that I wasn't a big fan of swine, in fact I admitted that I was a little bit scared of them.  He promised he would go into the pen with me to see them up close if I wanted to and not to worry.

So he did.

For the record, I was only a little bit afraid.

It was nice to hear him tell of what it takes to raise up a pig and as the fourth grader shown above, he had already learned so much of what he needed to know.  I was amazed at how much he seemed a "natural" as he worked with them and I could tell that he had a love in his heart for what he was doing.

The days of fourth grade came and went.  The school term of 2015-2016 was to be my only one at Petrolia, and on the last day it was sad to tell Carson and his classmates good-bye.  I knew that somehow, somewhere our paths would cross again.  As it turned out, Carson and I crossed paths this morning back in the same pig barn that I visited last year about this time. 

It was 30 minutes of time so very well spent!  In fact, I think I could call it the best half hour I've enjoyed in a long time.

I hadn't seen him since school let out in May and oh my goodness, how much he has grown.  I never think about how short I am until I stand next to a fifth grader who is now at least a head or so taller than me.  For as much as Carson has grown and changed in the short 7 months time that we last saw one another, one thing has not.

He still has a kind heart for animals.  For that matter, he has one for people too.

We talked about his new pigs, Sully and Marty (hope I spelled those right) and what it will take to get them to where they need to be as show pigs.  As it turns out, Sully likes to lie down and have his belly rubbed.  I asked Carson if it was ok for me to do that and he said "sure!".

And so, I did.

                                              For the record, this time I wasn't afraid.

You know I surely do not profess to know everything about teaching, even after nearly 40 years as an educator.  I make mistakes and plenty of them.  I learn something new every single day and I don't mind admitting that.  Only a fool would say that they need not learn anything else. But one thing I do know with certainty is this.

The classroom is not the only place children learn and sometimes the best of teachers have four legs, a cute curly tail, and go by the names of "Sully" and "Marty".

I am a very firm believer that educators need to meet their students halfway and learn about what goes on in their lives outside of the confines of the classroom walls.  I believe in paying home visits and seeing what things they enjoy doing outside of the normal school day. We need to make a connection with our students and actually listen to them for a change instead of talking at them.  It's amazing what we can learn if that happens.

It's a "win-win" situation for everyone concerned and I like that kind of deal. 

Although I had already known so, I was reminded once again by this fine young man that learning can take place in way more places than the classroom setting.  A kid doesn't have to be sitting at a desk with a book in front of him in order to gain knowledge.  Sometimes the greatest learning can be attained in the most unlikely of places.

Places like a pig barn~

Thanks Carson for reminding me of that this day.  I can't wait to see the person you grow up to be. Just so you know, I plan on sticking around long enough to find out.