“More Than a T”
By: Ms. Tracewski Every year, it’s the same thing. Fresh notebooks, brand new shoes, eager smiles. Tanned faces and sharply trimmed hair. Excitement for the first day of school. As a kid, I knew the routine. Wait patiently until the teacher nears the end of the alphabet, then quickly pronounce my last name before it’s butchered. By the end of the year, a few of them might have the pronunciation down, but I’m sure most just remembered the T. Now, the role has switched, but the problem is the same. The excitement for the first day of school continues, but I see fear, nerves, and dread. Confused eyebrows and scrunched up foreheads. I’ve been there, and I am still there. Looking at the class roster, I know I’ll struggle just like them, but isn’t a little struggle worth it? * * * Names are a weird thing. We all have them; animals, buildings, food, and even words themselves have names. Without them, we couldn’t communicate, and without communication there would be no connection, no belonging, no joy - no humanity. Names matter. Accuracy matters. And our intention matters. As I look at my students on that first day of school, I see a powerful and harming fear. Not a fear of me, but the fear of making mistakes, the fear of looking silly in front of peers, the fear of trying something foreign. And I see a hope but the wrong kind of hope. They hope for a shortcut. An easy way out. A path that avoids awkwardness, avoids challenge, avoids the process of learning. A path that avoids growth. * * * Tra-zoo-ski. Tracewski. Tra-soo-ski. Trace-W-Ski. T-R-A-C-E-W-S-K-I. It’s not too hard once you try it a few times. Give it a few silly tries, a few goofy mistakes, and you’ll see. It can be fun, humorous, and bring out a childlike joy of trying something for the first time. And it will bring a joy that isn’t just fun, but respectful because it allows them to recognize the true you. Never set a limit on what you can be. And to be just a T is a limit to me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author7th Grade Pumas ArchivesCategories
All
|