One of the challenges of being an educator… Sometimes you don’t know.
You don’t know that the way you say something triggers a kid.
You don’t know that a kid missed breakfast, or that they didn’t have anything in the house they could have for breakfast.
You don’t know that after school they have to fend for themselves, and maybe a younger sibling too.
You don’t know how abusive a parent is.
You don’t know how stupid a kid feels.
You don’t know how crippling perfectionism is.
You don’t know the root cause of misbehaviour.
You don’t know the bullying was happening until it went too far.
You don’t know how important your validation is.
You don’t know how hard the learning challenges really are.
You don’t know that the distracted kids really wants to pay attention but the distractions are too loud in their heads.
Sometimes you don’t know what you needed to know about a kid to be a better teacher for them.
Ah, but then sometimes you don’t know…
How appreciated you are. How much you are looked up to. How valuable your connection is to a kid for whom you are the only caring adult that listens to them.
Sometimes you don’t know that the joke you shared in class was the only smile a kid had that day. That you make a kid feel smart. That you are the only person to give a kid a 4th chance because life isn’t baseball and no kid deserves only 3 strikes.
Sometimes you don’t know how valuable you are to the kids, the families, and the community you serve.
