Second Grade Rocks

 

There are magical things happening in classrooms. Education reformers and teacher witch hunters would have you believe otherwise. Those are people who have never stepped into a classroom, never held the hand of a kindergartener during a tornado drill, never high-fived a kid who aced her multiplication tables after weeks of struggling, never listened to a child stress over standardized testing, never read the poignant words of a child scribbled on a thank you note.

I saw magic happen this year. In Ms. Cassidy’s second grade class.

 

Deal was there and relished every moment. After a tough year last year that left us all feeling listless, frustrated, sad, and defeated, this year turned into a year of wonder, confidence, and joy. We owe it to Ms. Cassidy. What a community that little room was! Happy, earnest, well-behaved children who marveled at each other’s accomplishments and laughed easily together. This is the sort of community and teamwork that no amount of Six Sigma and change management can create. But a teacher can. She did.

Deal wrote a book about architecture (a love and interest that stemmed from an elective class he had taken last year, one of many eye popping classes from a menu of wonderful electives that no longer exist to presumably make way for more teach-to-the-test time…but that’s another story). In his “about the author page,” here’s what he wrote (kid spelling left intact):

“I love to be with my class. There my favrot frends I’ve ever had.”

Then he goes on to say he loves bacon and speaks both English and Sarcasm. He’s 7. I’m not sure if I should wince or boast.

Second grade is really the most fantastic year. I have loved this grade for both Bird and Deal. It’s magical to watch little kids’ brains develop as they still laugh at fart jokes yet uncover pretty deep meaning in the character of Judd Travers in the book Shiloh.

I got to spend one period a week in Ms. Cassidy’s class to help in writer’s workshop. I did the same for Bird’s class (taught by another stellar teacher!). We worked on story hooks, descriptive word choice, and poetry. The children wrote a collaborative poem for Ms. Cassidy that they all read to her at the end of Poetry & Tea today, an old school tradition. There was talk of squashing that tradition this year, with claims that poetry did not fit in the common core. Clearly that’s not true so the show went on. And what a delight it was! Students stood on the stage, microphone placed front and center and introduced themselves and read an original work of poetry (Listen To Your Mother, the Second Grade Edition!). The Grinch’s heart would have grown as big as Ms. Cassidy’s had he been sitting in a folding chair in the library today. I worked with these kids every week and saw such growth. I see such promise.

 

Allow me to share a few lines from thank you notes the children wrote to me.

“You are kind for taking off work every week and working on writing with us crazy kids.”

“Thank you for tacking your time to come in and help us, care for us, and mack awesomeness spred.”

“You are so kind to teach us these things. I needed some tips.”

Lord, I love these kids. Have I mentioned how much I love second grade?

 

I pray that our leadership, our system, our values, and our budgets protect, nurture, and lift these children. We are nothing without great teachers. Ms. Cassidy is a gem, no doubt. But I know she’s not alone. 

 

Here’s a standing ovation to all the Ms. Casssidys out there.