A Substitute Story

Today was my first day substituting for the new school year.  I had a second grade class with only 15 students, an uncommon luxury in the business.  Last year,  the same teacher had 25 kids, more than a handful were...challenging.  Honestly,  I don't know how she survived the year.  This year's class is refreshing.


One of the kids is new to the school this year.  I don't know her background, but she seemed angry and sad.  Her initial interactions with me were off-putting, deflective, and angered.  For most of the early morning, she battled me over everything, especially when it came to doing any work.


Recess time came at 10:00 am.  She stopped by the restroom on her way outside so when she got outside, the kids were almost done with their walk/run lap around the miniature "track" (school custom). When she got outside and started her walk, she quickly caught up with a boy who was having a very sad, sad, slow day.  She walked up beside him and began talking with him.  Then she offered her hand to him in friendship, and they walked together halfway around the path.  It was refreshing.  The boy perked up and seemed to regain his spirit before he went off in search of butterflies and bugs.


After that,  the girl came over beside me to find some shade.  We chatted a bit, and she told me that she really didn't have any friends. "No one likes me," she said. I mentioned that I was proud of her for helping the boy who was having the bad day, and she smiled. 

A few minutes later,  she spotted a white caterpillar in the grass beside us.  So she spent the next ten minutes studying the creature.  Whenever a kid came by, she guarded it so that it wasn't stepped on.  I told her that she must really like insects.  She told me that she likes most insects but loves all animals.  Then she began telling me about cheetahs, sloths, bobcats, coyotes, and others. She was an encyclopedia of everything living.


As we were coming in from recess, I observed one of the other girls in the class saying mean things to this new girl.  So I stepped between them and told them that we'd speak more about this in the classroom.


When we got back to the cool room,  I called the kids up to the carpet. In elementary schools, "the carpet" is a small open space in the classroom where kids sit a listen to the teacher read aloud, tell stories (me) or pontificate.  Today,  I shared some observations.  First I mentioned that the boys need to stop walking UP the slide and going down the slide three at a time.  I talked about a few other playground safety issues as well like don't jump off the platform and land on your face.


Then I mentioned something special that I observed on the playground.  I told the kids that I saw a student walking with a student who was sad and was cheering him up.  Then I said that the same student really loves, knows a lot about,  and respects all animals.  In fact,  I told the kids that she guarded this white caterpillar as kids ran around. She didn't want to see it squashed.
 

At this moment in my talk,  the new little girl shouted out with a huge ear-to-ear smile, "THAT'S ME!!"  At that moment, everyone turned and looked at her.  It was obvious that that were looking at her truly for the first time. This new girl wasn't just someone to discount; rather, she was someone with whom they could consider being friends.


The rest of the day wasn't perfect.  There were some up and down moments,  but I noticed that the girl who had picked on her earlier had a change of heart and was trying hard to get to know the new student.  The new girl ended up heading to the bus with that girl who picked on her and as she passed me,  she said, "We're friends now!"


You don't win them all.  Some days are tougher than others. Who knows what the future holds for this new girl.  But for today, a little girl began to feel like she belongs in her new school.


 I just thought I'd share.