THE MODERN AMERICAN TEACHER
Sean Dietrich
She shall remain anonymous.
Her classroom was out of control. Had been for a while. The kids in her “at-risk” fourth-grade class were about as organized as a prison riot.
That’s what we call them in today’s world. “At-risk youth.” Once upon a time, in a less modern era, we might’ve called them “troubled youth.” But such words are unsavory in today’s modern and unbiased age.
Either way, the kids never listened. They did not pay attention. They seemed to always have their hands where little hands should not be. Their indoor voices were loud enough to change the migratory patterns of most varieties of waterfowl.
The endless behavioral issues were upsetting the young teacher’s life. She was trying so hard to reach them, but she left class each day feeling like a Stretch Armstrong doll on Christmas morning.
Then.
The teacher had this idea. The next morning, instead of their regular lesson plan, she paired the kids off. Everyone got a partner.
The kids were required to find a private spot in the room and talk to one another. Their assignment was to write biographies on their partners. They were to do research.
Most of the kids groaned and protested. But in the end, they did it. They all got together and started talking about their lives. Really talking.
“It was the most engaged I’d ever seen them…”
Over the span of two days, kids were connecting with each other. They were empathizing. They were exercising compassion. There were no behavioral issues in class.
“You could see everyone’s moods shift,” she said. “It was incredible.”
This went on for a week. Until one morning, when the teacher was running late for class.
There had been a wreck on the interstate, so a substitute watched over the classroom until the teacher arrived.
When the young teacher walked in, something was definitely off. The air was weird. The kids were at their desks solemnly.
The sub came to her quietly. “There has been an incident,” said the sub.
Uh-oh, the young teacher was thinking, almost certain the incident would involve severe misbehavior. Or worse. Someone’s lower gastrointestinal system.
“When I got here this morning,” explained the sub, “all the kids were praying with each other.”
“Praying?” said the teacher.
The substitute teacher nodded ominously.
The sub said the kids were found paired off, praying for each other. Nobody instructed the children to do so. They just did it on their own. They were using the name “God” and everything.
There were overheard prayers for food security, prayers for parents to find employment, prayers for moms to quit using drugs, prayers for dads to quit being violent. Eyes closed. Heads bowed. Some were crying. Others embraced.
The young teacher was so touched she began to weep. To make a difference in a child’s life is a feeling like no other.
But, because this is an incredibly modern and unbiased age we live in, the teacher was fired the following weekday.
Perhaps we’re too modern for our own good.
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