Measles, West Nile, Polio, Mumps, Smallpox, and the Common cold. These are a few of the world’s most common viruses. Even though the effects of these viruses on humans vary, they all have a few characteristics in common. They all have the ability to grow, reproduce, and spread throughout their host. Currently topping the list of viruses, is the epidemic known as COVID-19, the Coronavirus!! Let’s be clear, viruses have a bad reputation. That is because they can lead to widespread disease, cancer, and even death. The crazy thing about viruses is that they can thrive and spread without the ability to produce their own food or energy independently.
It only takes one mosquito, or another host, to become infected spreading a virus to hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of victims! What if our impact in the classroom, school, or community was just as comparable, but in a positive manner? Has anything as simple, as a warm smile shown to you on a cold rainy day, ever been just what you needed to lift your spirits and shift the course for what began as a turbulent day? The beauty of that scenario is that as educators, we often make many sacrifices and use so many personal resources, however, at times it is the “little things” that we can sometimes do that make all the difference in the world.
We are blessed to have a few former educators on the team, and one shared the following story with me. He had a really rough group of students in his last period of science class. I mean a really rough group. The type of group where you did not want to do the same lesson and activities that you did with your other students because they just could not handle it. He mentioned how he was doing a lab one day which involved food items and when he stepped in his doorway to address a co-worker, a student snuck up and ate some of the materials. He even snickered how even one day the blinking lights of a young lady’s house arrest monitor on her ankle caught his attention and she quietly sat at her desk swinging her legs. He knew that in order to penetrate the group it was going to have to start with him “infecting” just one person at a time. One day, the dominant male student in the class began beating on the desk and rapping. Instead of immediately scolding him, the teacher stopped teaching, turned on a popular rap instrumental and told the student to keep going. The student was so caught off guard, all that he could do was be quiet, however, the teacher dropped a couple of freestyle lines involving the student causing the class to erupt! That day, there was a slight line of connection established between the two. It led to that student helping out with future science demonstrations in class and the remainder of students fell in line. That school year ended with that last period being the teacher’s most dreaded class, to one of his favorites. It would be years later, that the same student returned to visit that he shared how he no longer was in the gang and also went to night school to catch up with his proper grade to graduate on time! It was from that same class, that almost 15 years later, two students sought out that middle school teacher, paid for his certification, and had him officiate their wedding! That impact was massive, but it started with a small genuine gesture that was centered around the betterment of the students.
As Next Level Educators, take time to reflect on your natural gifts and skill-sets in the classroom and school buildings. What small things can you do, which will not increase burn-out, that can be a game-changer for your students? How can you or do you positively impact your students? Just know that even if you believe your gestures are small or insignificant, they may play a pivotal role in determining the success of your students. The beauty of it also is that your efforts do not always stop with that individual. Your impact can be magnified throughout that student’s community! If you really want to change the world, let’s improve it one student, class, school, and district at a time!
-The Jeremy Anderson Group