Day 4 - "My Class Wish" - SOLSC

 

#SOL21

When I started my career I had the brilliant idea to turn my class incentives into class "wishes." I bought a wedding card jar offline complete with a roll of tickets where my students could write a "wish" after they had gotten so many points. I still remember being about two months into my new career (Pre-Covid Shutdown) and my group of three 4th grade boys had gotten to make their first wishes. I couldn't wait to read their tickets. One wanted a toy, another wanted a pack of Pokemon cards, and the third wanted to talk to his former LBS. You see, the LBS who worked with those boys for half the year had been moved to another school. That left a position open for another LBS and poof, the dual role was created that I now occupy (splitting my time between self-contained and general education programming.) Yet, I saw that wish and I knew it would be the first I would grant. Those boys had formed a bond with Mr. K, and I did not want to deny them seeing and talking to him again. So I reached out and planned a virtual phone conversation for the boys with Mr. K during a time that I worked with them. 

I felt like a child at Christmas waiting for this big reveal and the day couldn't come fast enough. When it did, I remember ushering the boys into the classroom that day and nervously anticipating how ecstatic I knew these students would be. Mind you, it was only one student who had made this wish, but I chose to grant it for all of them as a group, choosing the wish that would provide some joy to all of the boys at once. I honestly don't think I will ever forget the happiness on their faces when they saw Mr. K through the screen. Nor will I forget my own bliss at granting that happiness with the ease of sending an email to a fellow coworker and setting up a phone call. I still have a bond with two of those boys to this day. I haven't seen the other since we all went remote and he hasn't been back. Yet I still hope they never forget the day that they got to facetime with Mr. K. 

Fast forward a year later and I have transformed the wish-granting into the remote environment by using our standard ten-punch cards, but I am still using that tenth punch to grant student wishes. This year those wishes continue to not only surprise me but zing the soul if you will. You see, today my third-grade gen ed student was granted one of his wishes, he wished to have another lunch, with me, his second of the year. 

This was the slice of my life today, a Harry Potter-themed remote lunch for two. Imagine the grin on my face when I saw this student show up to the meet 5 minutes early, while I was still teaching phonics to my class of two. That 30-minute lunch break is one I won't soon forget. We had a show and tell of our favorite Harry Potter movie moments, characters, films, books, actors, and the list goes on. I was thrilled to share in the joy of his newly made Harry Potter Lego creation and shared my tale of how I have met actors that starred in the films. What is the point of this story you may ask? It touches the soul. It proves that teachers can use their time for good and that we even have the power to grant wishes. It has helped open my eyes to the truth of how valuable building those student/teacher relationships really are. I can't wait to keep granting these wishes and to show my 3rd grader the Harry Potter 1,000 piece puzzle that I put together over winter break. I can only wonder, what joy these wishes will bring in the future - as a teacher I can tell you one thing, they aren't going anywhere. 

Until next time I leave you with a quote from, you guessed it, Harry Potter. It reminds me that I don't have to be a great teacher to make a difference, I just have to choose to do great things. 

*GB