Gift Giving
By Donna Pitino

My seventh grade students gave me a surprise party. I had never had one and was touched that they had given me such a marvelous memory to hold. Hopefully, as a teacher, I have given them something, too...

Encouragement. I've attempted to take every child at his or her starting point and move that student along at a steady pace. No two students come to us with the same skills. It's up to us to build upon strengths and improve weak areas. It's not easy, but individual progress shows that we are encouraging each student to do his or her best, which leads to the next gift we can give...

Expectations. Not only should we expect each student's best effort, but we should see students begin to set their own standards and determine individual goals. Our world seems based on competition. The media bombards our students with the message that they have to be "the best" – the best looking, the smartest, the best dressed, the richest. As a teacher, I have tried to counter that message with my own: you are the best as long as you try your best. Don't worry about what Joe or Sue is doing. What are you doing to make progress with your grades, your attitude, your life?

A reason to write. Writing is a necessity for communication, no matter what you do or where you go. Five of my students had Letters to the Editor published in the local newspaper this year. They began to realize that their opinions matter. They wrote about improving indoor air quality at school, more carefully planned road construction (to avoid bus accidents) and about whether or not to attack Iraq. Their words were published and they learned that public awareness is the first step toward change.

Respect. If they've learned respect for themselves and respect for others, they are bound to see value in learning new things.

An appreciation for language, spoken and written. With all the words we have within our grasp, we can choose wonderful ways to express emotions or thoughts. I hope my students are no longer afraid to grab a dictionary. Smart people use dictionaries to expand their vocabularies. I hope they now love poetry, and see the beauty in other literature as well.

Independence. For some, reading and writing have become rewarding because they're enjoyable experiences rather than assigned tasks to be graded. When we lead students to discover the joy in reading and writing, then we have truly given them the greatest gift we can give.

Donna Pitino teaches language arts at Torrington Middle School in Torrington, CT. She's also a freelance magazine writer.

May 2003, Vol.33, No.8