Today, however, was just a different kind of pride. They've never been faced with what they faced today. Administrators, teachers, parents and, most importantly, tens of their peers watched them report on a learning experience that the other students will never have and then they were unsure what to do next. It was awkward. It was silent and then, all of a sudden, they were floundering. Other students were talking to each other, and my students were unsure of what the next step was. Then after a really awkward minute, right when I was going to attempt to rescue them, they thought of a solution and pronounced it to the entire room in a language that is not their native language.
They thought on their feet. That takes quick thinking, intelligence, courage and creativity. They have it. Actually, they have it in spades. They just need to be able to foster it in a way that they haven't been allowed to yet.
This is humbling for me because this week I was so frustrated with preparing for so many things and being thrown so many activities and projects and competitions all at once. I pride myself on being able to think on my feet, but I've never had to think on my feet AND be responsible for 34 of my students AND to be accountable for myself and them as well. I am, however, now humbled beyond belief. They can do it. They can rise to a challenge. They can be creative and solve problems if they are allowed to and if someone lets them go and allows them to fall. Nothing puts you in survival mode more than the belief that you are drowning.
Maybe they don't realize how big of a learning experience this was for them, but I do. I see how big of a step this was for them to take. They don't know it. Of course, they don't. They're 13. What's important is that I see it and I recognize it. What's more, I recognize how much I just learned about my own kids. I see how much they are actually capable of if someone guides them towards the path of success.
I love learning.
Hallelujah!
