A couple of weeks ago, our oldest son was home from college for Fall Break. We have 3 teenage children whom I LOVE to see all together laughing, playing, challenging, or just simply hanging out.
As I listened to them in a conversation about school, I just couldn’t help but stare. Each one of them is so different from the other. Our oldest son is a graduate of the “COVID” Class of 2020. When the world shut down and schools transitioned to remote learning, he flourished, unlike his siblings who complained and absolutely despised being at home everyday. For him, he no longer had to manage his anxiety sitting in a classroom where he felt pressured by all the eyes and ears around him to provide a perfect response. He had time to think without pressure or apprehension and learned to thrive in the midst of a global pandemic.
Our middle son, well, he needed some parental motivation to stay the course. He picks up content very quickly, but, quite honestly, he would rather be studying football plays or studying film. With reminders of the importance and connection academics play in his future of athletics, he pressed on begrudgingly, wishing he could be in school with his friends and teachers.
Our youngest, our daughter is a creative. She loves art and enjoys helping others. She is involved in leadership groups and has the most giving heart. Much like her older brother, she also struggled with remote learning. She couldn’t participate in her leadership groups, see her friends, participate in their scheduled community service projects, and she also missed the opportunity to take her class trip to Chicago through all of this.
It’s really incredible! While they are similar by blood, they are still so very different. It just left me thinking how special they are in their own special way. Isn’t this true for each of us and the students we teach? We are all so uniquely designed. Designed to be creative; designed to be artistic; designed to be analytical; designed to be athletic…. There is something special and great in each of us. It’s funny because this really didn’t make clear sense to me until I had my own children. Don’t get me wrong. I recognized my students differences, but it wasn’t until I became a parent that I really learned to respect the differences of each of my students.
As my children have grown, I’ve taught them to be vocal and proud of who they are. I have worked hard to raise them to be independent and proud of who they are becoming. My question is, shouldn’t this reign true for every single student we serve as well? My personal response to that is, ABSOLUTELY! Not only should we be encouraging them to be independent and proud, WE should be accepting of them as they are. After all, they come to us each day in their best form. It is our job, our responsibility to help mold them into their best selves.
So, I’d like to take this moment to remind you as I’ve been reminded to respect their differences because it’s their differences that make each of your students and all of your classrooms beautiful.
Dr. Kelly B. Daugherty 