Leaving a Mark

So I had a rough morning. The Second Week of School is not as mean as The First, but I was on the verge of a minor nervous breakdown. I had been putting out fires all morning. But then I got to work with a student in a sweet and adorable third grade class. Go figure, we all learned a little something.

The students were preparing to read a story about a bear going on trial, so the teacher presented a discussion topic: If you do something wrong or bad, should you get in trouble? Should there be consequences?

There was as buzz around the room as students discussed this in small groups. I smiled as I watched the students collaborate and chuckled as I thought of a few people/traffic lights/computer systems I'd like to "punish" that had done me wrong that day already.

Then one student raised his hand with urgency; he could not wait to share his most certainly correct answer. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "You should be punished. But only if you leave a mark."

It took me a minute to process his idea, and as I did, I had to stifle my laughter as I awaited the teacher's response. However, this kid is on to something. In his most literal and naive thinking, he put some things in perspective for me. My morning/week/two weeks had been really tough. But nothing has left a mark.

I, however, hope to leave a mark of my own. A different kind of mark. And so I truck on....

Stacey