A wonderful encounter and day in a teacher’s life.
On May 4, 2017, I was blessed with a very special chance encounter. To understand the importance of this moment you need a historical reference. Six years prior I was assigned a kindergarten class. The class was packed with 25 kids. I had never taught kindergarten before however, I knew I could handle it with my training and expertise.
In the beginning of the year, I thought it would be nice to make sure the children were well acquainted with our most common nursery rhymes. Many of the children had not gone to preschool, therefore my fears of their lack of knowledge were warranted. I chose to quickly sing a few songs during our morning meeting in September. All the children gathered obediently except one little boy who crossed his arms and exclaimed in defiance, “BORING! I already know all that!” “Really?” I questioned, “then let’s hear them.” Sure enough Matthew rattled off every nursery rhyme I could think of and more! “You see?” he said. “Well Matthew,” I smiled, “Do you know how to read?” “No” Matthew replied. “Ok, so this year, you will learn how to read, I promise! Now come join the class and even though you know these rhymes please know that I am going to teach you something very special this year. You are going to learn how to read, write and spell!” Matthew’s eye’s opened wide and he joined the group.
The year was a challenge as I had quite a wide range of learners. Some truly gifted, like Matthew and others who were struggling. Teaching kindergarten had it’s challenges as well, the children were simply not mature enough to handle long seated sessions, however I was able to navigate the work and requested a helper to handle those who struggled following rules. Thankfully, my principal gave me the perfect aide, a no-nonsense school aide who kept us all on track. I managed to teach the kids to read, write and spell and ran three reading groups. Matthew, of course, was my top reader in my top reading group. The group moved quickly through the Sing, Spell, Read and Write program. Matthew was proud of himself, he read at our graduation and I even recorded him reading the Declaration of Independence!
After kindergarten Matthew was placed in the Gifted and Talented school in Brooklyn. I was happy he would get the instruction he needed to move ahead as he should, however, I was never going to see him again and that surely weighed on my heart.
Six years later, I had his cousin, Joselin, in my class. She, also, was gifted and adorable! Occasionally, Joselin’s aunt would pick her up at PreK; of course, I inquired, “Where is Matthew? How is he?” “Oh, Mrs. Calabrese, he is getting paid to review off-broadway plays for children. He reads huge books and is excelling in everything!” “Please send him my love and tell him I want to see him.” I pleaded.
Sadly Matthew never showed up at school to pick up Joselin. But, on May 4th, 2017, I was walking to school from the subway and we crossed paths. There was Matthew, his mom and his sister.
“Matthew!” we hugged each other, “Oh my goodness!” Matthew exclaimed. “Did you know I’m teaching your cousin Joselin in PreK and she’s learning to read?” “No!” He looked shocked. “Yes! And I love her so much, like you! Have a great day! Love you!”
And off we both flew to our respective destinations. But Oh! How happy and blessed I am to have seen this little bright boy, almost grown up and continuing to do so well!
This was a wonderful day. I thank the Lord for this gift. As teachers, we see and love our children throughout the year, yet we wonder where they have gone. My classes, especially, have many students who leave the school. Some move on to the gifted and talented schools while others move to charters. There are those special ones, close to our hearts, whom we cherish and still love. Matthew was one of those and so it was a truly happy day to see him so well, so bright and so strong!
