Some days God is so faithful to give me just what I need to keep going. I’m never sick and tired of my job, but sometimes it frustrates me to have to deal with the same negative behaviors day after day with the same people. I know I’m not alone, but I am waiting for that certain day that will come when we turn a corner and my kids finally get it. Occasionally I ask God for something, some kind of encouragement to lift my spirits and keep believing His promise. Here are some things.
Today in one of my 6th grade classes, one of the girls was sitting with her head in her hands. I asked her what was wrong, was she tired. She said no, and I asked if she needed a hug and put out my arms. She said no and put her head back down. At that point I saw she started to sob a bit. I didn’t know what to do, so I just kept talking to the rest of the kids. After 30 seconds or so, she practically tore from her desk, pushed my arms away from my body and wrapped hers around me, sobbing into my chest. Thankfully, we were done with the class by then, so I put my arms around her and hugged her like she was my daughter. After her sobs slowed down, I tried to lighten the mood and told her I liked her shampoo because her hair smelled good. She chuckled, but still kept her face buried in my shirt. She finally let go, smiling through her tears. I could have cried.
Yesterday was parent-teacher conferences at school, and I was sitting outside on the bench. A 1st grader was waiting with his sister and his mom for her interview. He left his mom and ran to me, staying by my side the whole time I was there. He would sit on my lap, next to me, stand in front of me staring into my face, putting his head on my stomach and saying “Aye, ¡que gordito sos! Como mi papá.” In the States, you usually get made fun of for being fat. Here you’re adored for it by the kids because it reminds them of their dad. Who knew?
I also have two problem 1st graders. Both of them are very sweet, but neither of them (one’s improving) can behave for a period of time longer than 5 minutes or so. They are the two kids who I’m focusing my prayers on, so join me if you will (I don’t want to say their names, but God knows them). Last week one of them saw me in recess from a distance and said “Hug!” Then he ran to me, so I lifted him up and we cuddled for a bit. My hope is that the attention he seeks during my class time can be filled during recess and he’ll not feel the need to try as hard to grab my attention when I’m trying to teach. One of the other teachers saw us and said, “You just made someone’s heart very happy.” I don’t know if she was talking about mine or his, but either way it works.
Come on…don’t you want to experience the blessing of following God’s calling in your life? 
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.
Ah, Jason! I’ll pray for your first graders! If one is who I’m thinking of, then I will certainly pray for him, because he can really wear you down with his behavior! I’m thankful that you can truly love him despite his frustrations. And once again … THIS is why you are a good teacher! Because you LOVE the kids and aren’t afraid to show it!
Oh, and just a bit of encouragement… sometimes it’s the difficult students that come back to you in the end and thank you and tell you how much they’ll miss you.
Great post. Keep up the good work. And keep loving those kids. So are you going to stay an additional year? It sure sounds like you are making a positive impact!