July 8, 2020 –
Consider the warning: “Be careful what you say and what you do.”
An elementary school teacher who is careful and watchful about what she does or says around her students tells the following story.
I’m an experienced elementary school teacher, and I love my job. I know the position carries a lot of responsibility, and I accept that responsibility. I went to school to study and prepare to be an elementary teacher. I like preparing my lessons and student activities and look forward each day to help mold these adolescent minds.
When I was at college, I posted a saying by Ben Franklin on my corkboard. It was my goal to live with his words. “Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.” My end game is to involve the students in the fundamental points of the lesson.
One day after a class was over; I walked one student out of the class. I held the hand of a seven-year-old black student. He said to me, “you and I are different.” I wasn’t prepared for this. But I knew, inevitably, race would come up. Before I could speak, he said, “Your hands are bigger than my hands.”
With that, he ended the discussion.