Calvin was a student that most teachers view as a “lost cause”. He was a slacker and only passed a class with a grade to keep him eligible for football. When the season was over his grades went down even further. A nice kid but typically either late to class or a no-show. He was a good football player and his coach went the extra mile for him, becoming a mentor and encouraging him to finish school. 

 

The teacher’s lounge was always buzzing with stories about students. Students like Calvin. Calvin was in my computer class. His attendance was fair, projects were always late and always about football. I liked Calvin and noticed there was more than just a kid who didn’t care. He was often tired and at times asked if I had any snacks (which of course I did). I gave him extra time on projects and helped him with spelling and grammar before giving a final grade. 

 

I didn’t know anything about his home life. No parents ever showed up for conferences, he came instead. I didn’t know he had aspirations of college and becoming a football coach to help kids like him. I didn’t know because I didn’t ask. But, for some reason I believed his excuses and gave him a chance.

 

It wasn’t until Calvin asked me to read and edit his college essay, that I came to understand him. I began to understand his “attitude” and “laziness.”, that teachers complained about. It was hand written. I started reading the first paragraph with red pen in hand. I presumed there would be spelling issues, not to mention a lack of punctuation, incorrect verb tenses and many run-on sentences. I didn’t make it past the first paragraph when the pen went down, and I became lost in his story.

 

He was the oldest. The one in charge. He had mouths to feed, clothe and get off to school. Many times the power had been shut off. Sometimes his mom would be home, still high or semi-conscious, incapable of caring for them. If she wasn’t home, she was out on the streets looking for more drugs. Calvin and his siblings were often shuffled between relatives until they became tired of the extra burden. Relatives would send them back home to an often cold, dark, house with little food, if any. Home to a mother dealing with drug addiction. A mother who was unable to care for them. 

 

Calvin came to school hungry, cold and tired. He came to school seeking food, warmth, safety, love, acceptance, and someone telling him he was worth it-that everything would be okay; that there was a future and it was good. 

 

But, how many students had I talked about in the teacher’s lounge believing they didn’t care? Giving up on them? Becoming hardened to their stories and behavior? 

 

How many are you losing through cracks each year, each week, and each day? How many do you lose because you didn’t see the cracks? Are you too tired, too busy, or not wanting to get involved? How many times could you have put up a barrier to prevent, even one student, from falling through that ever-widening crack?

 

Don’t they all need you to give them the same chances as Calvin? How many have a story similar and you just didn’t take the time, or worse, care to find out the why? Everyone has a reason to build a protective wall. Even kids.

 

Think about your students as individuals. How well do you know them? Is their attitude stemming from a problem? From hunger? From felling isolated or invisible? Remember, some of them may be trying to deal with issues that you have never had to deal with. Get to know them. Give them support. Don’t let them slip through the cracks – fill them.