Experiencing the Fruits of Vulnerability

I posted this in the CI Liftoff Facebook group, but I didn't want to lose the memory, so I figured I would document it here as well.

Stick with me through my rambling, exhausted, emotional post. Today I had the rare experience to witness the fruits of my vulnerability in class.

After a student walking in and telling me that my hair looked "interesting" 🙄 (7th grade boys...) and what felt like the longest afternoon of my life... one of my 6th grade students bopped into my room to talk.

Some background information... this student has suffered severe trauma and has gone through more in her 11 years than I have in my life. Although she is not without her struggles, she is the sweetest kid.

So, the bell rang, (in my head I was singing hallelujah!) and she pops into my room to tell me about a frustration with her report card. A grade she received in a class (not mine) would cause her to be grounded for this last quarter. We proceeded to discuss ways to improve that grade during the 4th quarter, and then she noticed her standardized test results were not in the report card envelope for her mom. They were only in the envelope for her dad.

Suddenly the topic turns from grades to the struggles she still faces about her home life (drug addiction, past abuse, divorce, etc). She opened up and shared with me. I walked with her to leave the building, and as we spoke, she said "yeah, I have a lot of things like divorce in my family... just like yours."  She shared things like "I don't understand why my life has to be this way."  "I'll never be super smart like my father." "I write in my journal that I wish I had a life that I could never have."  Heartbreaking.  I did my best to encourage her and speak life to her.  Then, I gave her a hug and sent her off to her weekend.  It was probably the most powerful 5 minutes of my week.

You see, last week, I shared my very complicated, not so "normal" family tree with my classes. It was a great opportunity for rich input, but an even greater opportunity to build community.

Perhaps it resonated with her and made her feel like we had a human connection, or perhaps I just happened to be the closest teacher she could find to vent to today, but either way, I'm feeling extremely blessed that this young lady confided in me. Hopefully we're building a foundation that will show her that she's valuable, enough, and worth every opportunity in the world in spite of what her experiences have shown her.

What we do (I would argue that as CI teachers we often do this more than others)is so much more than content. Today, I got to feel that in the deepest parts of my tired soul. ❤

Will you commit to a moment of vulnerability next week?

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