sweet

     Our end-of-day routine includes me standing by the door and offering students the option of a hug, handshake or high-five. Most of my girls will take me up on the hug. For the last few days, Pirate has surprised me by giving me a hug on the way out. It's one of those slightly awkward, boy hugs -- the kind that say, "I'm-only-9-so-I'd-still-like-to-hug-you, but-I-don't-want-people-to-think-I'm-a-sissy" hugs. Which makes it all the sweeter, really.
     Speaking of hugs, Quarterback came in tired-eyed, out of sorts, and as grouchy as a bear one day last week. He started verbally picking on someone. I pulled him outside to talk. Turned out he was tired from staying up late to pick up grandma at the airport. I ended the conversation by saying, "you look like you need a hug," which he happily accepted. I've realized that while he will rarely initiate a hug, he often needs one, and he has much better days in the classroom if I make it clear that I care about him. It's just hard sometimes to dredge up the patience to pull him on the side and give him the positive pep talk and gentle reminders. I wonder if that's why we call some of our students challenging? Not just for those difficult behaviors, but because they challenge us to be better teachers and people?