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It was beautiful picture that made me pause. A young girl, sitting on the floor at a large department store, with a stack of books beside her. No adult in sight. I thought to myself ~ this is every teachers dream… Spring break and this young girl is sitting on the floor with a pile of books, right beside the toy section, reading.
I browsed for a moment then was pleasantly interrupted by a man, who looked vaguely familiar. He extended his hand, to shake mine, and said hello to me, by name. I had no idea what his name was, or where I knew him from.
We spoke for a moment and he recalled specifics and details about when I taught his daughter, a number of years ago, and this was her, reading on the floor nearby. He remembered when my dad came and we made Father’s Day keychain gifts – he still uses his. He spoke about the reading time we had in the classroom and enjoyed it very much. He recalled our field trip to Grouse Mountain and shared the lasting memories his daughter had about learning about bears and the experience.
It was a brief encounter but has left me pondering the impact we have on families. Of course, in my “head” I understand I have an impact on children and their lives. But I was touched, really touched, when I encountered this family and he recalled such detail the time we shared. He rekindled what I know in my head, in my heart. His daughter was in Kindergarten at that time, half day. I did not see him often as he worked, yet still, he remembered so much about me and was so quick to share his memories of his daughters experiences.
I think as educators, we need these encounters every once in a while. They cannot be orchestrated, of course, but they are certainly a wonderful surprise to be treasured. They remind us of the lasting impact we can and do have on children and families. How we move from year to year, as do our students, but still, every day we are creating memories, having conversations that may stick with a student forever, and are entrusted with an influential position that many never get to have. What an honor. What a privilege.
I hope to see more young students sitting on the floor reading. I hope this image will remain vivid in my mind for a long time, encouraging me to push myself to think more critically about the classroom environment I am creating for my students. I wonder what my students leave my classroom remembering? I wonder how will they be challenged and changed? I wonder how will they feel and what will they remember about the year they spend with me?
I browsed for a moment then was pleasantly interrupted by a man, who looked vaguely familiar. He extended his hand, to shake mine, and said hello to me, by name. I had no idea what his name was, or where I knew him from.
We spoke for a moment and he recalled specifics and details about when I taught his daughter, a number of years ago, and this was her, reading on the floor nearby. He remembered when my dad came and we made Father’s Day keychain gifts – he still uses his. He spoke about the reading time we had in the classroom and enjoyed it very much. He recalled our field trip to Grouse Mountain and shared the lasting memories his daughter had about learning about bears and the experience.
It was a brief encounter but has left me pondering the impact we have on families. Of course, in my “head” I understand I have an impact on children and their lives. But I was touched, really touched, when I encountered this family and he recalled such detail the time we shared. He rekindled what I know in my head, in my heart. His daughter was in Kindergarten at that time, half day. I did not see him often as he worked, yet still, he remembered so much about me and was so quick to share his memories of his daughters experiences.
I think as educators, we need these encounters every once in a while. They cannot be orchestrated, of course, but they are certainly a wonderful surprise to be treasured. They remind us of the lasting impact we can and do have on children and families. How we move from year to year, as do our students, but still, every day we are creating memories, having conversations that may stick with a student forever, and are entrusted with an influential position that many never get to have. What an honor. What a privilege.
I hope to see more young students sitting on the floor reading. I hope this image will remain vivid in my mind for a long time, encouraging me to push myself to think more critically about the classroom environment I am creating for my students. I wonder what my students leave my classroom remembering? I wonder how will they be challenged and changed? I wonder how will they feel and what will they remember about the year they spend with me?
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