One of my greatest "success stories" from being an inner city teacher is my darling Rita. Most who know me well, know the story of her also. If I am totally truthful, I know that her success and talents really do not have much to do with me. She was already gifted on her own, long before we met. Nonetheless, we were both extremely influential on each other.
Rita now goes to a private school where she is on a full academic scholarship. She takes the train every day by herself, stays late for sports, and is busy being involved so I don't get to see her that often. I was very excited when she sent me a message saying she was going to be visiting our school and staying with me in my classroom!
It was the day before Thanksgiving and it had been wild at school- let's just say it was one of those weeks where you really feel helpless/hopeless. Luckily, Rita came along to restore a little of that :)
I was so impressed with how much she has grown up and matured even more. She told me all about the wonderful things she's doing at her new school, her favorites classes, and how nice all of the students and teachers are. She is truly blossoming at this school because it can give her all of the wonderful opportunities she deserves. (I helped her family process the paperwork last year and it may or may not be more than my entire college education.) She even had an article written about her in the school newsletter. Like I said, a real success story.
Since I also love to have a little fun with my students and we were being dismissed early for the Thanksgiving holiday, I ended the day wearing some ugly fake teeth. I happened to have an extra pair that I gave to Rita because after all of her hard work she needs to have a little fun too!
Her mom came to pick her up from my room and when we greeted her with our buck-toothed smiles, she almost passed out from laughing so hard! After a goofy photo shoot, we all three were laughing so hard that we were in tears. Rita even said, "I have never seen my Mom laugh like that-- ever!" It was a sweet moment.
Later that weekend, I was watching a movie where they said “The ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ 'Has your life brought joy to others?’”
There might be a lot of times in this journey of being an urban educator where "joy" is hard to come by. I struggle to hold on to the big, overall picture and get lost in the day to day conflicts and exhaustion. But when I heard that quote I thought about my Rita, her mother, and all of us doubled over in laughter. In that moment we were both bringing joy to each other's lives. I know that I will definitely stay in touch with Rita and try to be the best mentor I can be for a long time to come!
What a beautiful story. You are truly gifted.
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