Parma Plan It: December 2014

Throughout our careers we have the opportunity to work with so many kids. Many of those kids have special needs in some form or another. Some require special attention academically, others emotionally, while some require "a special kind of love" all the way around. We have students who start with us in kindergarten and stay with us through fifth grade. We have others who join our school family somewhere in between kindergarten and fifth. And then there are those who start with us and then leave to attend a different school with a new teacher. It is these kids that I want to talk about.

As a teacher you know that typically you have one school year with the students who have been placed in your room. One school year in the life of a child to make the greatest impact, to help them grow and learn as much as possible in the time they are with you. Our curriculum demands require that we know so much about our students' academic strengths and weaknesses. We have to make sure every student makes adequate gains and that our growth data shows that essential standards and skills have been met by every child. Teachers around the country do this every day. What doesn't happen in every classroom and every school is the "special kind of love" that I want to be given to each child in our school.

To work with the mind of a child, to help him or her grow and mature, we need to understand his or her heart. We can't possibly understand the behaviors of some of our students if we don't take time to connect and show love and care for them in and outside the classroom. I'm not sure I could explain this better than the letter below. This letter was sent by a Parma Elementary teacher to a teacher in a school where one of our students now attends. Obviously the new teacher is having some issues with the student and has some questions. A child may sit at a desk in your classroom for one year, but when given "a special kind of love", that child will be influenced by his/her year with you forever.

Letter from a Parma Elementary Teacher:

I'm sure I didn't do anything you aren't already doing. He requires a special kind of love, doesn't he!! He ended up to be one of my favorite students by the end of the year, so don't give up hope! I knew that I was going to have to develop a relationship with him or he would make my life and the other student's lives miserable. I just went out of my way to let him know that I love him enough to not let him get away with anything. I had heard that he stole things, so I was proactive about praising him for any time he picked up a pencil and gave it to someone, etc., and he didn't steal in my room. The only other thing I can think of is that he was hungry all the time, so I always packed a lunch bag with fruits and veggies mostly ( I never gave junk food because of his teeth) and I gave it to him at the end of the day. I think many nights it was his dinner. The reason I'm telling you this is that one day I had a sub and he was HORRIBLE for the sub. When he saw that I had a sub, he went directly to the cupboard that his lunch bag usually was and saw that it wasn't there. (Another adult in the room told me about this.) I always wondered if he was worried about being hungry that night so he behaved badly. Who knows?

My favorite moments with him were when in October he and one of my other difficult kids that year were arguing about which one I loved more (they both thought they were the one) and when he found something that would have been cool to take (I can't remember what it was now) and he returned it to a classmate and made sure to tell me that he did. I said to him, "That feels good to do the right thing, doesn't it?" and I'll never forget the look on his face when he smiled and nodded his head.

Academically, he was below reading level for a good portion of the year, but he ended up catching up and left right at grade level. He had Title support, but he never read at home, so all of his reading only happened at school. He loved it when I listened to him read, and worked hard. He was very strategic when he left my room and could solve words many ways. He had to have extra support in writing. He struggled in math and would always need extra help, so I can imagine that with Envisions and the depth that is there that he is having difficulty thinking at a higher level like that.

I honestly learned to love that boy and really miss seeing him. I often wished I could take him home with me. Let me know if there is anything I can do. I ran into him at Walmart on Halloween and it was so nice to see him.

We will continue to have students who need extra attention and love in order to progress. May we all be aware of those who require a special kind of love!!

Letter Worth Reading:

Santa Letter - A great letter from parents answering the question whether or not they are Santa.

Videos Worth Watching:

This is the new WestJet commercial. Our 4th and 5th graders watched this at assembly on Wednesday and discussed being on the giving and receiving end of gifts and the joy of both. I loved seeing so many of our kids' hands go up when I asked who would like to work for WestJet and shop for others.