What Do You Mean Children Grow Up?!?!

Tonight I hung out at the Hawai'i State Track and Field Championships at Kea'au High School.  I went for one reason: see my former student run the 3000m.  (I suppose I'm not supposed to confess this, but he is totally one my favorites! SHHH.)

Now that I've moved to the Big Island I rarely get the chance to see my former students so I was really excited to see KK.  First of all, he's totally sprouted.  He's really tall, tan and muscular....so different from the sweet child I remember.  I guess that in my head he'll always be 12 years old!  It got me thinking that if I'm this stunned by a child actually growing up, what the heck am I going to do when I have children?!?!?!

RUN KK, RUN!!

Obviously seeing him made me remember fondly all the memories from when I taught him.  It was so fun to see him run his race since one of my fondest memories is how he used to run from class to class even though we had plenty of passing time for them.  NOTHING I could say would convince him to just walk to class.  I suppose I should've let him run since he's developed into quite the runner!

I always knew KK would be a special person.  I don't know how, but you know every now and then you just meet someone or teach a child and you just think, "You're something special." (I have one of those now - an adorable, precocious 2nd grader that is just so bright I want to bottle him up) Recently KK was featured as a speaker for an Autism Speaks event in Honolulu and was the HI-FIVE Athlete of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mnzJkNTWmc

 

KK has amazing parents.  It really makes you realize how much of a difference a supportive and nurturing family can do for a child, especially one with a disability.  I wish every child had parents as amazing as KK's and I particularly wish that every child with a disability had a parent that would advocate as fiercely, love as ferociously, and be as supportive, patient, and understanding as Mark and Tara. (On a side note, Tara was an educational assistant with Chris at Ilima and he also taught KK for a quarter at Ilima!) Perhaps that's why I am so passionate about working with parents...

KK & MARK

One of my greatest disappointments (that's saying a lot to since this whole year as been basically nothing but disappointment) is that I won't be able to see my first group of students graduate.  (KK was my second class)  When I was still at Ilima I had a couple of girls from my 7th grade homeroom who'd ask me every now and then to make sure to come for their graduation.  For years I have been looking forward to this and I always thought I wouldn't be in Hawai'i still.  However, work has been so bad and I have one if not multiple meetings every day after school and I just can't go :( 

I only did three years in the classroom (Weird to think I'm now at the point where next year I'll have been out of the classroom for longer than in it!), but I do think about those kids all the time.  Especially my first class of kids.  The stories I could tell!

I hope that for as long as I'm in education that I can always make sure to find a way back to the kids.  Nothing is scarier than an educational leader that has forgotten what it's like to be a teacher. 

Today I went to a 1st grade end of the year performance because a bunch of my ELO kids (it's a class I teach after school for lower elementary students) asked me and it was the cutest stinkin' thing.  If it wasn't for FERPA I would totally post pictures of their adorable-ness.  I can only imagine what it's like to be an elementary teacher and see your little guys grow up!!! I'm having a hard enough time coping with the fact that KK hit puberty and is now a head taller than me.  I'm trying to picture what it'd be like to see my little students that hug me every class (and sometimes every time they see me at school!) as teenagers!