The Classroom Mirror

Special thanks to my Google Gemini app for today’s writing prompt…

What is the most important lesson a student has taught you this year about human nature?

There’s a lot I’ve learned from my students this year. In fact, every year I think to myself that while they have five or six teachers, I am lucky enough to have roughly 50 teachers in return.

I’ve got one student in particular who has taught me a lot about gratitude and perspective. I’ll call him Q.

The Weight of Survival

Q and his younger sister live with guardians. I don’t know if they are blood relatives, foster, or adoptive parents, but they require Q to pay for food for both him and his little sister. Recently, Q’s hours got cut at his part-time job. That means he has less food money. As a result, he “gave up” eating so he could still afford to feed his sister.

The teacher I share my classroom with has a good rapport with Q; she was the one who filled me in on his situation. I know she took food to his house, and she recently connected with a friend at a food bank. It sounds like they are going to be able to get Q and his sister a steady stream of food for the time being.

Q’s story breaks my heart. He’s a good kid—respectful, quiet, and stays out of trouble. For whatever reason, he’s in the alternative school trying to catch up on credits so he can graduate. This situation reminds me that there are people—far closer to me than I realize—who are truly struggling. “Giving up eating?” With priorities like that, he is deep in survival mode.

The “Apollo 13” Spirit

I’ve been in the teaching game long enough to realize many kids have harrowing home lives. I experienced this firsthand when I taught in Detroit. Beyond food scarcity, it wasn’t unusual to hear about a student who lost everything in a house fire. Unfortunately, these stories aren’t new, but they never get easier. I remember when schools shut down during COVID, my first thought was, “Where are these kids going to eat?” Luckily, teachers all over America “Apollo 13’d” the situation, setting up food pick-up locations at the schools themselves.

The Luxury of “Option C”

The gravity of Q’s situation reminds me how good I have it. I’ve been struggling lately with the weight of taking over my mother’s bills and the general friction of “adulting.” But whenever I get down, I think about Q.

I think a lot about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For Q, the base of that pyramid—food and shelter—is crumbling. Schoolwork can’t exist when the foundation is missing. While I’ve been focusing lately on “Option C” (choosing myself and my own peace), I realize that is a luxury of someone whose basic needs are already met. I am in a “thrive” mode where I can worry about self-actualization; Q is just trying to

As much as I admire his sacrifice, he’s no good to his sister if he’s physically too weak or too tired to work. He has to be able to take care of himself to some extent to be the anchor she needs.

Beyond Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic

In the classroom, there isn’t much I can offer him other than stability—and the occasional snack. But sometimes, that stability is everything. Being the one constant in a student’s life, the person who cares and provides a safe space every single day, goes far beyond “reading, writing, and ’rithmetic.”

Growing up as a white, middle-class suburban male, I know I’ve taken my fortune for granted. Students like Q are far more resilient than I ever was at that age. His plight makes the news of the world—like the recent total electrical grid failure in Cuba—feel even more immediate. Survival mode is a terrifying reality for so many.

Q is a stark reminder that we are often the only “game face” of support these kids have. He’s teaching me that while I’m busy rebuilding my life, some people are still just trying to find the bricks.

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AI art created with Google Gemini.

The article “The Classroom Mirror” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.