The Difference a Teacher Makes

Today I just have to say what a difference a talented and caring teacher can make in the life of a child. This is something I've always been quite passionate about, especially in a school setting, thus the reason I majored in Early Childhood Education in college.

But today I saw this in a different light, outside of a school setting. Today I'm grateful for my little sister Kandace, who also happens to be a talented and extremely positive gymnastics teacher.

If you asked Kelsie a week ago she would tell you, "I hate gymnastics." She took gymnastics at a local establishment last summer. She found gymnastics to be hard (not something that came naturally for her) and she had a couple of very bad experiences with a teacher who was very negative and impatient with her when she was trying her best. I became angry as I watched these interactions and pulled her out, firmly believing that my child's self esteem was much more important than any skill the teacher was trying to teach. Kelsie walked away with a negative feeling toward the sport in general and her ability to do anything involving the dreaded "bars" in gymnastics. This isn't really a big deal in life, it was just hard for her because her little sister is very talented and LOVES LOVES LOVES gymnastics (especially the bars). It has been a source of competition and contention for Kelsie over the last few months, despite numerous conversations about how everyone is talented in different ways, etc... Nothing I could say or do could seem to erase the impact of that bad experience.

Today Kelsie decided to try a gymnastics class at my sister Kandace's studio. She has been taking tumbling there this summer but decided to TRY gymnastics one time. I was wary of the experience because I didn't want her feeling bad about herself again or comparing herself to Emily.

I sat, at little on edge, and watched the class. There were a lot of really positive moments but the amazing one to me was when my daughter got up to the bars. She was nervous and uneasy but she was willing to try it. With the help of her teacher she accomplished the task at hand and went on to flip over the bars several more times, with her smile and confidence growing visible with each attempt.

She came up to me after one class of gymnastics with a new confidence and desire to try. She said she "loved gymnsastics and the bars." I was truly amazed. What was the difference between her last experience and this one? It was a teacher who was positive, patient, and caring and put the way a child feels about themselves as her first concern. It also took a teacher was talented enough to know how to help all children, not just the kids who things came naturally to. That is the kind of teacher all children need and deserve.

In the end, it really doesn't matter if a child learns the specific skill being taught if their self worth is destroyed in the process. It is too bad that some teachers lose sight of that along the way. The most important thing is that they feel loved and valued for who they are. This self worth is what will allow them to try new things and find success in whatever they choose to do in life.