I See You, I Hear You (Part 4): Missed Opportunities

Meghan Retallick contributed this post. Click here to read more of Meghan's thinking.

This post is part is the fourth in a series about building relationships with students:

1. I see you, I hear you: Building Relationships with Students
2. How do students know we see and hear them as readers and writers?
3. Being Culturally Response = Seeing and Hearing Each Other

This morning I had an experience that took me by surprise.  One of my former students stopped in my office to visit--always something that brightens my day as I work more with teachers rather than students in this role.  This student was in my 9th grade English class for one semester two years ago, so he is currently in 11th grade.

He politely asked what my plans were for spring break (not big events--just pure relaxation!), and I returned that question.  His face became very animated as he talked about how his aunt had arranged for him and his brother to go to Ohio to visit a bunch of museums.  The one he was most excited about is the Armstrong Air and Space Museum.  This launched (ha ha…) us into a debate on the movie The Martian starring Matt Damon, and I just sat back with a smile as he expanded on what he knows and how much he loves learning about anything dealing with space.  After a 10 minute conversation, we wished each other well and parted ways.  But, I was left thinking about him the rest of the day.  I had no idea that he had that passion for learning about space.  He was a reluctant reader and writer and needed a lot of support when in my English class to stay engaged.  He had also visited me earlier this year after I observed his Environmental Science class through a coaching cycle.  When working in that class, I saw a very disengaged student and he shared that his multiple “Fs” in other courses kept him from playing hockey this season.  And yet, he will spend his entire spring break willingly and excitedly visiting museums and growing in his learning.

The overwhelming feeling I had was one of a missed opportunity.  Why didn’t I learn about his passion for space sooner?  I had never seen him as engaged and excited in conversation as he was this morning.  If I would have known this as his English teacher, maybe I could have channeled that passion into further learning.  How many other opportunities for growth had I missed with my former students because I didn’t take the time to see and hear them in casual conversation?  

I can’t change the past and obviously still created a positive relationship with this student as he still comes to visit me, but I take with me this small lesson in finding out who our students really are.  I remember that even when our minds are filled with so many other pressures and worries, taking the time to stop and listen to what drives them will drive us all to higher learning.  Creating authentic and engaging experiences that ensure student choice and can fuel their passions are always the key to creating amazing learning opportunities.  I move forward, more aware and on the look-out for these possible opportunities as well as sharing that awareness with the teachers I coach.

Last, but not least, since my last post in the series (see prior Parts 1-3), I saw the image below on Facebook and couldn’t help but see the connection to this series.  We never know when the opportunity will present for us to show students that we see and hear them and how much they might just really need us to do so.  It is our responsibility as educators to be vigilant about keeping our ears and eyes open, preventing missed opportunities.