I got an A !!!

This week beat last week into a cocked hat for craziness. Just when I thought things should be setting down they rev back up :) About half-way through week I definitely thought I was close to losing my sanity. I had actually stared at a computer screen so long that I saw double. Never happened before. I mean I've exaggerated that it's happened before, but it never actually did.

I had another frustrating afternoon of dealing with people who can't respect other people's property to push me over the edge and then the most amazing thing happened. I was at work in the evening and one of my students who I've been working with for the past 2 1/2 years as part of the NCLB program came in with his homework (the second time in the past 2 1/2 years I've worked with him) and showed me a test he received in his Algebra class.

It was an A. I know you're probably thinking, no big deal so he got an A, but it was the first A he's received in Math probably since kindergarten. He said he doesn't even know if he got one then. You could tell he was "busting" with pride in himself that he had accomplished this. I was suffused with pride myself that I was there to witness it and he shared it with me. It was like I made an A for the first time. It was also encouraging to see his father, a single parent, so excited about his son's first A. He was so encouraging towards him that I was definitely getting weepy.

When I first met this kid he was working at about 3 1/2 years behind grade level and to have made an A in a subject that most kids in LA county are failing in is a huge deal. When I saw that look in his eyes, that sense of accomplishment and belief in his potential and abilities all the stress and trauma of the bureaucratic nonsense of the past few months paled into insignificance.

All the hoops didn't seem so bad if just one child's sense of failure was replaced with a since of confidence and belief in his/her own potential. It was very important to be reminded of that.

As always have a great day and enjoy.