The other day, I glanced down at my student sitting patiently in front of my desk. His arms were laying across his chest and his head resting against the back of my sofa. For a moment, I believed him to be asleep, his breathing shallow and calm. He was waiting for me to review his work for him so that he could move forward in my Chemistry Course. But, as I flipped through my list of students on my screen to find his name, it dawned on me how privileged I was over the many years to have been able to have hundreds of students sitting in the same position, head laying back with their eyes resting shut awaiting for me to grade their student work. I smiled, thinking fondly of my old black pleather sofa and how many children I was privileged to have sit there in my career. What a kind and fond honor, I imagined. My sofa and I have seen some years, been through numerous experiences, and have grown older; much better today than when we first started. The years that have accrued have been part of a remarkable journey.
My black "pleather" sofa was a gift I delivered to my students in my science classes after having completed training back in 1997 in learning styles development. I had decided that students would be more comfortable in class having some "comforts of home" within the four walls of an institutional place such as school. The idea worked miracles for many of my students, especially those who had difficulty paying attention sitting in those hard stools and desks that were offered to them inside a science classroom. Along with the sofa, I implemented cushions and other things to promote coziness. I recall how my method of classroom environmental settings were met with odd looks from other peers within my profession. Regardless of the snubbing I received, I believed that my students' success was first priority, not their opinions. My data showed that what I was doing always seemed to work to get the best from my students.
Looking at the many years of use my black "pleather" sofa has endured over the time that I have been in education, I find it has become a reminder of what my life as a teacher, an administrator and now as a facilitator, has become throughout the past 25 years. When I first got my sofa, it was rather rigid, a practically new piece to my collection of classroom finds, and its comfort was not very nice to the parts coming into contact with it, either. The cushions did not sit favorably; in fact, the molded material was all but relaxing to sit on. The same was true of my beginning years as an educator; I was rigid, new, and not comfortable at all in my element. Like my sofa, there were many parts to my life during this time in my career that, as I look back now, were not very favorable. As a matter of fact, I cannot imagine how I could have been so cold, uptight, and inflexible. I saw myself as having to fit a mold based on my environment and the people with whom I was around. I needed a change. I needed to grow softer.
I decided to move to a new environment. I carried my black pleather sofa along with me. There, in the new surroundings of my school, I experienced a totally unique element; a family like atmosphere that I found I needed and loved and desired. The new conditions that I had learned to adore at this strangely wonderful school bled over into the manner in which I treated my students. I discovered a different person each time I looked into my mirror; a person growing from within; eager to face challenges and grow. In this current environment, I found some peace and found myself. My new school came with wonderful demands that helped me to soften and develop. I expanded my way of thinking and an created a newer methodology in my means of educating young people. I implemented project based learning modules into my lessons while using more and more learning styles than ever before. My black sofa got a work out as well. It wasn't a show piece anymore, rather an active device used to teach and reach my students. More and more, the cushions softened and molded to numerous students that earned the privilege to sit on it. Students worked ever so diligently to be allowed to enjoy its coziness while taking notes and working on projects. It softened and became gently aged; like myself.
My journey continued with my positions in Richland One; my sofa followed along to each school at which I was blessed to work. It was more than a tag-along piece; it was a part of me. This piece of furniture represented pieces of my life. And like me, my black pleather sofa began showing its age during this time. A scar here; a small hole there; a couple of dents in the legs, and some cosmetic attention that a nice polish covered. Yes, it was very much like me. I smile thinking that before now, I would never have written a short story, an analogy, to include a comparison of me with a sofa, but, I am so much more comfortable with myself than before, thank the Lord. The sofa has represented me kindly and, to some extent, will indefinitely. And as I reach the end of my twenty-fifth year as an educator, I am quite pleased at what my resume displays; at the lives I have touched; at the manner in which I have learned to reach students; at the knowledge and wisdom I have acquired; at who I have become. I know my husband and family would agree. I am sure my students would , too. As for my sofa, we have many more years together; all of our sagging parts, our weathered and worn exterior, and the beat up structures that hold each of us together. Yes, we have many more kind and privileged years to keep reaching students in an honorable fashion.
No comments:
Post a Comment