Little Diana
When I
began my career as a sixth grade teacher, I met the most interesting children.
Several of my students touched my heart, but there was one who stood out. She
was the smallest student in the cluster, who had the biggest, brightest eyes.
One day, I allowed a few of my students to share their journal entry about
their favorite person in the world. To my surprise, the tiny hand of the little,
shy girl flailed around in the air. I immediately called on her to share her
journal entry because she never volunteered to speak aloud in front of the
class. She grabbed her journal and slowly walked towards the front of the
classroom. The looks on the faces of the other students’ faces were priceless!
They were just as shocked as me to see her standing in front of the class about
to speak. She looked down at her
journal, and then at her peers. She repeated this for about thirty seconds
without uttering a single word. Assuming that she was nervous, I decided to
stand next to her. I looked at her and told her go ahead and read her entry.
Gazing up at me with her big, bright eyes, she quietly said, “okay.” As she
looked down at her journal, tears began to flow down her face. She immediately
turned away from her classmates. I placed my hand on her frail shoulder and
told her that she did not have to share her entry with us if she did not want
to. She then looked at me, smiled, and said, “I’m okay I want to read it.” She
faced the class and thoroughly began to read. She thoroughly described her
father and shocked us all when she mentioned that she could not see him because
he died. My heart sank to my stomach. After class, she walked over to me, gave
me a hug, and thanked me for standing by her side. I wanted to cry, but I
smiled and nodded instead. Sadly, she and her family moved before the end of
the school year. She told me she did not want to go to another school because I
was her favorite teacher and did not want to leave me. In the fall of the next school year, I went
to the local fair. I noticed a child running towards me with open arms. It was
little Diana! I gave her a hug and before she walked away with her mother and
sister, she said, “I missed you and will never forget about you.” I smiled and
walked away with tears in my eyes.
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI was moved by your story. It is interesting that we have no idea what may have gone on in the lives of the children in our classes until the day they share. Diana wanted so much to share her dad with the class that she was willing to relive her sadness. Her bravery probably came from wanting her dad to live through her writing. Both your assignment and your supportive attitude enabled Diana to do what she really wanted to do.
Thanks for sharing!