The WHOLE Child

What a weekend! This weekend has been jam packed with so much and I am thankful to finally have some time to myself today to relax. Our students have been working extremely hard with the addition of one of our new music teachers to perform the musical, The Grunch. Friday night was opening night and all I can say is WOW. Many of the students that were performing are students that I get the opportunity to work with each day. It was amazing to see them in this different light and find out about some of their other talents and to see them in action!

One of the students that I teach in math and reading starred as the grunch. He is academically gifted, but also gifted creatively. It was wonderful to see him do his thing! I honestly could not stop smiling the entire time and may or may not have teared up at the end. 

Saturday, my wonderful big sister from my sorority graduated from George Mason with a Masters in Special Education. I am so incredibly proud of her! 

Here she is, relishing in her accomplishment! So proud!

Couldn't help myself! :) Had to share the awesome gift basket we made for her! Everyone laughed that the staple remover was included, but those things are a huge deal! As expected, no one even though twice about the inclusion of the Fireball. Guess everyone knows that sometimes adult beverages are needed ... a nice addition to the occasional week of work. ;) 

You are probably starting to wonder why on earth my post was titled "The WHOLE Child".  Don't worry, i'm working on it. At Christina's graduation, I had the honor of listening to Melissa Porfirio, the 2014 Virginia Teacher of the Year, speak. She shared her story with us and you could have heard a pin drop in the Patriot Center. Honestly, many commencement speakers leave you thinking about how thankful you are that they are done speaking, but she was amazing. I was completely entranced.

She told us the story of her childhood; her parents abusive relationship, wondering if everyone would still be alive when she woke up, and how school was an escape for her. She lived in a "trailer park" and in her town if you lived in there, you were expected to not make much of yourself.  The people who lived there were called "Village Rats". She was identified as a high student and hid where she lived from everyone throughout school. She was successful and loved how she felt at school, even though each night she was dealing with so much at home. She had a science teacher in middle school that was her absolute favorite.  One day, another student in class was acting up. and the teacher said "What do you want to become, one of those Village Rats?". That day, the teacher that she admired so much lost her respect. To hear her teacher talk about people like her that way made her lose faith in her teacher, her school, and herself. School was no longer a place of comfort and the repercussions of that teacher's words stayed with her into her adult life.

Her message was this, look at the whole child. Don't throw it around as a buzz word, actually do it! You should "never underestimate the impact you will have on a students life". I believe that this is true, a child named John Cuervo is the reason that I went into teaching. But additionally, she wants us to remember that although the current focus is on DATA and RIGOR "we must not forget the power of RELATIONSHIPS". Your relationship with a child can change their lives. I think in the day to day it is easy to forget this, but we cannot. By thinking about the whole child and supporting them in and out of school she makes differences in lives each and every day. 

When I reflect on myself and if I truly look at the whole child, I know that I do try to do this every day. Just like seeing my students in their musical and the conversations we have each day I know that I am taking a step in the right direction. However, I think that many of us can do more and that if we do we will be helping them succeed. Sometimes we just get caught up in all of the hustle and bustle and forget to really take that time. Hearing her speak has inspired me to make sure that I will put more of an effort in to know my students outside of school every day in the future. 

How do you think about the whole child? What do you do to make sure that you are supporting them in all aspects of their lives?

Happy Teaching Y'all!