What Our Students Need

I've double-checked the date twice today before 9:00 am-- it's July 28th. I'm pretty sure we skipped June or July somewhere in the middle of this summer heat because it seems like summer came and went rather quickly. Those of you who teach or work in a school are getting ready to go back. Maybe you've been busy all summer and you're ready for a normal routine. Maybe you've enjoyed sleeping in. Maybe you have children of your own and you've loved every minute of being with them all day, or maybe you're ready for them to get back to school too. Whatever your scenario is, it's time for us all to go back. 

As teachers, administrators, counselors, secretaries, and other school staff, the "going back" can sometimes be tough, but we should never forget how important our job is. To us, it's going back, teaching the same material and following the same procedures (that is, unless we've changed positions), but to our students they are coming in fresh, ready for a brand-new year. Sure they're going back to school, but they're not going back to the same thing that they left in May. They're going to a new grade, a new teacher, a new classroom, new peers, and new everything. They need us to be recharged and ready to go the moment they walk into our doors. Did you catch that last sentence? They need us. 

The students may come in slowly and somewhat unwillingly in the days to come, but mainly because sleeping in and staying up late is so much fun to them. Some of our students will be happy to get back to school on the first day just to see their friends. Sure, they probably spent some time with the neighborhood kids this summer, but they've missed their "school buddies." Some of them will be happy to be in a new grade because they've heard from older students all of the fun stuff they will get to do. Some may be thankful to be back because they now get to eat a good breakfast and a good lunch each day. They are all going to be excited for their own reasons, so we need to be ready to welcome them. 

So we'll start off the year strong because everyone is re-energized and ready to get going, and then come October, we'll be in a routine almost like on autopilot. Let's be real... it happens every year. But remember what I said earlier? They need us. They don't need us to repeatedly cram information into their brains like a robot. They don't need us to harp about behavior every five minutes. They don't need us to compare them to their older siblings. They don't even need us to do all kinds of crazy stuff to try to hold their attention in class. 

They need us to be fully present and aware. They need us to listen. They need us to care. They need us to stand up for them. They need us to challenge them. They need us to help them grow. They need us to believe in them. 

    There will be a child this year in all of our classrooms who nobody listens to at home. Maybe she is in a big family or maybe there's just not a lot of time when Mom and Dad are home and able or willing to listen. Be that listener for that child. Take a moment and ask about her day. It's that simple and will mean the world to the child.
    There will be a child this year in our classrooms who just needs to know that we care. Maybe it's a scraped knee, a fight with a sibling or friend, or a situation at home. We have to get to know our students so that they know that we care about them. Students who feel like their teachers care about them will feel more comfortable in the classroom and will most likely have more self-confidence . 
    Some child in our class may need us to stand up for them. Maybe there's a student bullying them or maybe someone doesn't believe what they said or did. When we know a child has done right, we need to be his champion standing up for him.
    There will be a child that really wants to succeed in the classroom and needs to be challenged to do so. She may not voice it immediately, but if we see that determination, we should help her grow and achieve it. Some students don't know how to challenge themselves, so they need our help to learn.
    Most importantly, all of our students (whether they admit it or not) want someone to believe in them. Some of them may have family cheering them on at home as well, but others may not. As educators, we may be the only ones who believe in some of the students who walk through our doors. 

We go back to school in just a few days. We will have students of all ages coming in our schools excited for a new year but yearning for our attention. Let's be fully present. Let's listen, care, stand up for them, challenge them, help them grow, and believe in them... not just because it's "our job" but because it's our calling.