Currently, I am undergoing my second of three practica with UBC Faculty of Education to become a high school English teacher. I love everything about literature and how our way to communicate thoughts and ideas come alive on a page through what our minds imagine. For the most part, it has been an enjoyable experience couples with trying times. However, what makes it all worth while is the connection I make with my students.
I am teaching Martel’s Life of Pi to my English 12 students, a story rich in religion and story telling. If you’ve read the novel (or watched the movie), you’ll know what I mean. It’s a rather dense book and my 12s struggled with reading simply because there was too much detail involved but we are getting through it well in these last few weeks that I have with them.
As a teacher, you run into all sorts of predicaments – half your class signs up for the Socials 11 field trip to Victoria or a Business Communications 12 trip to Seattle meaning they will all end up missing two lessons where you can’t really teach anything, or some will end up talking out of turn wanting to push the last of your buttons, or you’ll get that one student who gives up completely because he asks himself, “What’s the point?”
There is one student of mine in particular who I’ve only seen a total of four classes since February started. He had a great energy about him. He didn’t always participate in class but when he volunteered, the ideas he provided were insightful. He is witty and hilarious. His strength though is in creative writing and I was able to see that today.
He showed up for the first time in the longest time and participated in today’s activity – create an abecedarian (a list of words from A-Z about a particular topic) about Pi’s survival and then retro the story using the words you’ve come up with in order from A-Z. He was on fire – his vocabulary was exquisite, his story-telling so detailed that I’ve never seen such vigour and passion in him ever. He totally delivered.
One of the things I love doing is being able to talk to my students at their level. I asked him to stay behind and have a conversation with me. I asked him to be honest with me and tell me what’s been happening. He was open and honest with me about what was happening that caused him to give up on himself – he just wanted to pass the course without putting any effort whatsoever, so he’d end up coming to school late every class and I’d have to send him to detention on Fridays. This combined with expectations from parents and him failing the course caused him to rationalize that skipping school was the only alternative. He spoke with his older sister about it over Spring Break and he had reality shoved in his face. “Would you rather graduate with your friends or be yelled at all the time because of mom and dad?”
We talked for 30 minutes. He said he wanted to make up for all the work he missed and that he didn’t intentionally skip because he didn’t like me. I thanked him for his honesty and I told him that I expected better from him, that he is a totally capable student, that I enjoy his presence in my classroom, that I totally believe he can write anything, and that he can totally pull through and pass the course. He’s inspired and motivated to finish the race set before him.
Before we ended our conversation, he told me that he does a lot of creative writing on his own time (3000-5000 word entries every week) and he asked if I wanted to see his work. I said of course. And he said, “Thank you for believing in me still.” He shook my hand, gave me props, and a hug.
This student of mine has taught me patience and empathy. But more importantly, he helped affirm my vocation to teaching. I’ve always known that this is what I was meant for. Everyday, The Lord tells me that I am one day closer to achieving what I’ve always wanted and what I know He wants for me. I know that no matter how many times I may give up on myself, God is constantly trying ten times harder to pick me up. When He sent His Son, Jesus got on our earthly level in a human form. Now, God wants us to get on His level, His heavenly level,because He truly wants us to be happy.
Father, I thank you for not only the gift of my vocation, but as well for the students you bless me to teach. Help me to inspire in them a mind that yearns to know more, a heart that does good in the world and a faith to believe in you. Amen.
