The Grumpy Side of 60
Thanking you in advance
By Bob Robinson 

Sarah is 11. She’s smart as a whip. Goes through her multiplication and division tables with ease, has a good concept of how government works, the weather cycles and, according to her teachers, is “street smart.” 

Give her a logic problem beyond her age and she can usually figure out how to address it. But first you have to read it to her. As smart as she is, much of her time is spent in special education because the fifth grader is at a first or second grade reading level. 

The concentration, of course, was to get her reading up to speed so she can advance. She struggled in the morning, then went to one of her regular classes. When she came back she was grinning… 

“He likes me,” she said. 

“Who?” 

“Jimmy. He likes me. I dropped my pencil and he picked it up and handed it to me.” She was delighted. Didn’t seem to have as much trouble reading the rest of the day, either. 

Needless to say, these aren’t their real names, but the little girl hopefully was able to move to the sixth grade by years end. 

Then there’s Sam. He’s in first grade and has to be segregated from the rest of the class because things belonging to others keep attaching themselves to his fingers. We had a little talk. Arrived at an understanding, but I still watched him closely. 

He also watched me. Closely. He decided I might be fair game for a joke. He was right. Caught me off guard and got the positive attention that he wanted from the rest of us. 

No one else’s items grew legs that day and my kneecaps got a big hug at the end of it. 

Sandy didn’t smile much, which surprised me since I’d subbed in her kindergarten class before. She was outgoing and often a little too rambunctious. Today she seemed sad. 

Later she told me, “My grandpa died yesterday.” 

What do you say? What can you possibly say? 

“You loved him very much, didn’t you?” She nodded. “He loved you very much, didn’t he?” She nodded and hugged me. 

“He’s still watching over you, sweety. And when you need to you can talk to him. You can still talk to your grandpa.” 

“Can I talk to him now?” she whispered. I nodded. She went off by herself for a few minutes, then rejoined the class. 

Then there are shoes. Shoes with ties (they can’t tie their shoes yet), shoes with Velcro straps, floppies and sometimes, believe it or not, high heels… well… low high heels. This can represent a challenge in gym or during recess. Makes you wonder what some people are thinking when they send their child off to school in the morning. 

Teachers deal with these things every day. These and more. This, of course, is in addition to academics. 

I envy our teachers. But I also respect the challenges they face. Every grade, age group and individual child represents a different challenge from the time they enter school until the time they graduate. 

Their concerns, challenges, environments, dreams… all unique. All special. 

Managers in an office, line supervisors – even parents and grandparents – could learn a few lessons from the way teachers handle their individual charges. 

I have a dozen more stories I could tell, and I was only a sub. Over the past several weeks I’ve introduced you to several children. I figured I’d introduce you to a few more of our kids. Your kids. 

They know you value them, if for no other reason than they are your future. They thank you in advance for your support on Aug. 6.