Teacherscribe’s
Teaching Tip #150
It’s what we all do when no one is watching that really
counts. And sometimes it’s what we do
that we don’t even remember that makes a huge difference in the lives of our
students.
It’s What You Do
When You Think No One Is Watching (installment 1)
As I stood in the double door
leading into the student section of the gym, I couldn’t hear myself say, “How’s
it going?” to Mr. Lingen who was leaning against the yellow pads beneath the
basket.
Every student was on their feet,
clapping along to the school song. With
the final chants of “Mighty, mighty, Prowlers, mighty!” echoing, coach Bittner
grabbed the mic from Mr. Biermaier addressed the student body about her
volleyball team which, in just a few hours, would be playing in the section
championship for the third straight year with a chance to return to state.
I leaned over and asked Mr. Lingen
how he was doing designing the Western Civ curriculum which would be offered
for college credit next semester.
He rolled his eyes and said that it
was a slow process but that he was looking forward to it.
Then coach Bittner began introducing
the varsity players. As each girl ran to
the center of the gym, I began counting the pairs of Crocs I saw. Luckily for them, there were none. Wow,
I thought. That’s impressive. At least they weren’t wearing baseball caps
like some of the other supposed student-athletes in our other programs.
My thought process was broken when
Shelby was introduced. She hopped up
from the front row of bleachers and bounded toward the row of volleyball
players. She then gave each girl a high
five as she ran down the line and took her place at the head. In Crocs.
Shelby had black Crocs on. Oh lord,
I thought, and fished my phone out of my pocket. I searched for Shelby’s last text. Then I typed the phrase
#weretryingtohaveasociety and hit send.
Shelby and Hannah said a few words
to the cheering crowd about how they hoped everyone comes to the game, how much
the fans meant to them, and how, hopefully, they would see them all down at
state next week.
And just like that, the band stood
in the upper deck and began pounding out the school song to end the pep fest.
The volleyball players fled the gym,
for the buses that would take them to the game in Moorehead were waiting to be
boarded.
I pressed my back against the
hallway to avoid the stampede. I waited
for the steady stream of players, students, parents, and faculty to subside.
Then I stepped back in the gym
looking for someone to harass. What I
noticed stopped me in my tracks.
Nate, one of our special needs
students, sat in his wheelchair not five feet from me at the edge of the
bleachers. As a diehard Prowler sports
fan, he was decked out in a Prowler jersey and had streaks of blue and gold
across each cheek.
Shelby knelt down beside him with a
huge grin on her face. She asked him how
he was doing and if he was going to the game.
Nate grinned broadly and shook his
head. Then he pointed at something on
his iPad.
I backed away but continued to
watch.
Shelby talked and smiled and nodded
her head. She was in no hurry. It’s
like she doesn’t even know she will be playing in one of the biggest games of
her volleyball career in just a few hours, I thought. In
fact, it looks like she could care less.
This kid is a born teacher. I
just hope she gets done with her degree in time to come back to Challenger so
she can teach Cash.
“Well, Nate,” she said, putting her
hand on his shoulder, “if you can’t make it tonight, listen to us on the
radio! I’ll see you on Monday!”
With that Shelby gave Nate a high
five, and she was gone.
Right then a thought popped into my
head, I hope Kenzie grows up to be just
like Shelby.
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