It finally happened for the first time this year. There I was driving down the street, and as I turn to my left I recognize the teenage boy in the truck next to me. “WAIT!” I yell to my mom in the passenger seat, “that’s my kid”. And like a complete dork I start waving. My mom remarks, “Your kid, what are you talking about?”.
It is a funny way to refer to them, “My kids…”; at the very least my students are old enough to be siblings or relatives. Despite the age difference, it amazes me how much like my own children they are. I feed them, in some cases (when they are breaking dress code) I clothe them, I give them shelter (I leave my room open at lunch)… the list of basics could go on, but really I share their triumphs and the failures, their heartbreaks and their troubles. But in seeing my student today, I was overcome with joy, not because of which student it was, rather what he represents. I am often reminded by friends and family that I work with gang members, drug addicts, and other forms of “challenging” kids. But what they often forget is that they are also students whose talents and intellect have gone unnoticed and unchallenged because of society’s inability to see past the exterior.
The student I waved so enthusiastically to today is one such student, a known gang member. It was nice not just to see him, but for the first time to see him in a situation where he was just a kid, driving with his dad talking and smiling. We often forget that all of the labels that we put on these “challenging” students diminish the label that should be recognized first. They are kids, they are our kids and we need to remember that we make them who they are. And we have the responsibility to step up and make a change. Because, if we don’t step up, we have no right to complain about what we allow them to become.
The kids I work with impress me everyday. They are the spice of my life, they are my adventure everyday. Not all of them are gang members, many have never touched drugs, and they are challenged in different ways. They have taught me what it really means to earn respect and be brave when everyone seems to be against you.
So I want to say a very special congratulation to a student who is a high school student no more. Anthony, your accomplishment came with so much effort. I know you thought you wouldn’t make it at times, but that just makes graduation so much more fulfilling. The greatest things in life come with hard work and they are sweetest when you gave it your all. I am so proud of you! You did this on your own, and you will continue to do many more great things, because you have proved to everyone (including yourself) that you can.
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