The Fantastic Four, Erasers, Chaos, and a Little Bit of Faith

August 31, 2010

A quick entry here before I go to bed...

Today was a struggle for me at work - two of the teachers at the Learning Center were absent, so the rest of us all had to squeeze as many kids as we can into our classrooms.  I ended up having to "adopt" 4th and 5th graders into my middle school classroom, and it was an absolute chaos.  The most notorious four students in the entire Learning Center were placed together in my classroom (the "Fantastic Four" as my sister calls them), and I almost broke down and cried at how terrible they were.

The entire day was filled with "Teacher! He said that #($@#*#JDSF" and "TEACHER! I need help!" and "TEACHER! He keeps on pushing me!" and "TEACHER! He's not giving me the eraser!" and "Can I go to the bathroom?" and "How come he gets a star and I don't?" and...oh my, I can go on forever.

Needless to say, I was exhausted from dealing with 20-some 3rd-8th graders all in the same classroom, and by lunch I was in such a crabby mood that I just wanted to put my head down and get away.

In the midst of all this, a sweet moment ensued.

One of our "Fantastic Four" threw an eraser across the room at another student, who then went on to blame another member of the "Fantastic Four" (but not the actual culprit). Trouble followed as the wrongly accused student bursted out in anger and frustration while everyone called him a liar. He was already off his seat, screaming at everyone and swearing on "his life" and "God" and everything else he can think of to defend himself.  I understood where the other kids came from, however; this particular student was usually the one behind this nonsense of throwing objects at other students. The situation was quickly getting out of hand, and I pulled the wrongly accused student away from the rest of them in an attempt to calm him down.

I told him, "I trust you. I believe you when you said you didn't throw the eraser at him."
He answered, a bit calmer, "But _______ said that no one believes me except the teacher."
I told him, "I believe you. And God believes you, if you are telling the truth. Isn't that all that matters?"
He looked at me for a moment, then looked down, and nodded. Then he silently went back to work.

This little scene touched me so much.  Isn't it wonderful how amazing our God is and how true his justice is? I hope to apply the advice that I told the student in my own life when I feel like I've been wronged.  Our Heavenly Father always knows the truth, as He can see our inner heart motives...and isn't that what matters?  No need to justify and defend myself all the time...

I am learning so much from these kids, even though on days like these when all I want to do is just quit and walk out.  I pray each day that I can be a little more patient, a little more loving, and a little more of a reflection of God for these little individuals who still need a lot of guidance. :)