A first grader came up to me the other day and said, "Dr. Gentry, look, my dad gave me a note and I put it in my pocket." I asked her if I could read it, and it brought tears to my eyes. I asked her to read it, and she had some trouble; so I helped her out. The note read, "Bella, Have a great day at school. You'll do great! You are super smart and super cute! I love you. Daddy." She seemed to like it, but was not quite as moved as I was. She stuffed it back into her pocket, and off she skipped without a care in the world.
I hit me just then about how much I wished I had a letter from my dad in my pocket that told me how much he loved me. He's been gone now for over 22 years, and I don't think I have a single piece of paper with something written on it from him to me. What I wouldn't give for just one word. I also thought of the millions of kids around the world who never get to have a letter in their pocket from their dad, or from anyone for that matter, telling them how much they are loved. What would our world be like if every dad, every parent, every caregiver made sure that their kid knew every day that they were loved and that they were smart...and super cute? I bet the world would be a much, much better place!
As educators, we stand in the place of the parents while the students are here at school. Does that mean that our job is to just keep them safe? I think our responsibility goes much deeper that safety. Perhaps the most important job we can do as educators is to love our students. We should be telling them that, not just in words, by by demonstrating love in our actions. We can tell them how smart they are and give them lots of chances to prove it. The reality is that our job is challenging, and many of us have those challenging kids in our classrooms and schools. It's these types of students that need our love the most. As educators, our words and our actions have tremendous power! Let's strive to be that note that a kid carries around in their pocket that lets them know how loved, how smart, and how special they are!