If anyone ever tells you that they don’t have a favorite student, they’re a big fat liar. Either that or they hate all of their students, which is a pity.
I indeed have one, and he’s a boy in one of the classes that I spend the most time with. First off, he’s hilarious. He used to have crazy hair which matched his persona, but he unfortunately chopped it off after losing a bet. Some of the teachers think he’s a bit foolish and a nuisance in class. But he makes me laugh every single day (which probably isn’t great for discipline’s sake).
Secondly, he’s brilliant. His grades are not great because he doesn’t work hard on the subjects that don’t interest him (like English) but he knows a lot of information that I don’t even know. He loves history and appreciates a lot of things that kids his age don’t give two cents about. When he’s interested in what’s being taught, he looks as if he’s practically sucking the words of the teacher straight into his brain.
Lastly, he has no shame. He has no shame and doesn’t hide any of his emotions. This is possibly my favorite thing about him. Embarrassment is a word that doesn’t exist in his vocabulary, so I have the best time with him during English time. People tend to get shy when speaking to me in English because they’re afraid that they’re going to make grammatical mistakes. This kid makes hundreds of grammatical mistakes, but since he never gives up and will talk to me until I get his point, we end up having great conversations. On top of that, like I said, he doesn’t hide anything. If he’s sad, he’ll tell me that he’s sad, and if he doesn’t understand what I’m saying, he won’t let it pass, he will ask me again to explain it again. As a teacher, I think detecting student’s lack of comprehension has to be the most difficult thing to do, because they don’t tell you until you see their failing grade. With this boy, I never have that problem. He will tell me that he doesn’t get it, and will ask me questions until he does. I’m never annoyed with his questions, and always welcome more, not from the goodness of my heart, but because I really want him to continue.
He’s an open book. He’s honest, sincere, eccentric, and intelligent. I have really high hopes for him. I know that he’s the favorite amongst all the other TAs, and it’s easy to understand why. The only problem is that he can get lazy, so his grades may not improve. I hope he understands in time that studying is important. Us TAs used to joke that he was either going to be a great author or a bum on the streets. I really hope it’s the author that he chooses to become.
Today was my last day with the students. The boy came up to me and said, “Lisa, I am sad. I never forget you.” It meant so much to me, because I knew he meant it. I know that he meant everything he has said to me this year, and that this was no different.
I have come to love all of the kids that I work with. Sometimes, I may not like them, but in the end I love all of them, even the blond girl who pretends to be 10 years older than she is, or the tiny gothic girl who has an attitude the size of the Grand Canyon, or the boy who gets into fights all the time, or the other one who just won’t shut up. They have their difficult sides, but that’s the part of being teenagers. Some of them (including all of the aforementioned “bad” kids) wrote me good-bye letters. All of them came up to kiss me good-bye. I’m very hopeful for their futures, and am saddened that I won’t see them grow up.
How I love everyone I've met this year...
