From my (admittedly limited) experience as a teacher, it seems that there are very few moments when you can look at a student and think “Yes, I’ve taught him something.” I don’t doubt that what I’m doing is important and has an impact, it’s usually just more of a planting-seeds-that-someone-else-gets-to-see-grow kind of thing. Today, I had the incredible experience of seeing a student use something I had taught them.

“Brian” is currently a fourth grader, but I got to know him last year through one of the after school programs. He’s a really sweet kid, but a little bit hard to keep focused. (For example, he was so excited to see me this morning that he kept trying to tell me about his life and ask me all sorts of questions while I was trying to teach the rest of the class.) He’s also extremely easy to upset and takes perceived slights from the other kids very personally.

Today he was playing with a group of boys during the after school program. I’m not sure what happened, but I heard him yelling at the other boys, calling them cheaters. I could tell that he was really upset and likely on the verge of tears, so I called him over. We had spent class that day discussing anger and the importance of self-control, so I decided this was a great moment to help him apply these lessons to his real life. “What did we talk about today, Brian?” “Not yelling,” he grudgingly answered me. “And what should you do instead?” Rather than answer me, he just started smiling and laughing (which was one of the ways we had talked about calming down.) At this point, one of the boys he had been playing with came over to try to coax him back to the game. I braced myself for what I was sure was going to be another outburst on Brian’s part, but instead he just kept smiling and went off with the other boy. I was so proud of him for managing to calm himself down and amazed to discover he really had been paying attention. It’s these moments of visible progress that keep me motivated when it starts to feel like I’m just talking to myself.

“This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.” – Archbishop Oscar Romero

 Erin C. is a second-year CAP Volunteer in Educational and Recreational Programming. See is a member of the Jackson Volunteer Community.