Go Fish

When I tell someone new that I am a teacher, they nod in understanding. Then I add that I teach first grade and that understanding nod turns into a look of complete unbelief. Even I don't quite believe myself all the time when I say that. Becki will tell you that I can be awkward around young children since I talk to them like they are adults. In fact, this is how the scenario almost always seems to play out: I see one of my students in the mall, store, restaurant, etc., I try to speak with them, and we walk away as Becki reminds me, "Jon, you can't speak to them like they're an adult." For some reason though, all that changes when I'm teaching. I feel totally comfortable and I become a different person on that stage called the classroom. Because of that, my relationships with students are always very defined. I am the teacher, they are the students and I don't stray from those roles. Today was different though. For some reason, when one of my students begged to stay in at recess and play cards with me, I gave in. I taught the student the easiest game I knew, Go Fish. We played for the entire recess. Strangely enough, I wasn't worried about the copies I needed to make. I was worried that they might beat me. The student wore a smile that I hadn't seen or noticed yet this year. It was a contagious smile that brought a smile to my own face. They showed an enthusiasm for life that I thought was dormant. It was an enthusiasm that renewed my enthusiasm for teaching. It gave me a whole new perspective on this student. No longer were they the difficult student who wouldn't listen to directions. They were the student who has problems like everyone else, but who wants to know that someone cares for them. And all of this happened with just a deck of cards and a mere 15 minutes. What a small price to pay for a look into the life of a student I never would have seen from teaching them math.