Wisdom. This word was brought up this evening while I was with a group of people. We often think of only the elderly being wise. But, sometimes the greatest wisdom can come from a child. The insight of a young one can make us take a step back, realizing what is and isn’t important in life.
Thirty years ago, I had one boy in my class who came to school filthy, every day. There was actually a little trail of dirt leading to his desk chair, just like PigPen in the Peanuts comic strip. I would open up his overly folded homework sheet with tweezers, as there was always dirt falling out of every crease, not leaving a very good feeling on my fingers. I must admit his scent was awful. Though the school nurse would try to clean him up a bit, and there were endless talks to the parents, nothing changed, as they, too, were dirty. The other students would ask me to spray him with a disinfectant. My dusty little ten year old had the name of Homer.
In the same class, there was Jimmy. Jimmy never gave me a moment of peace. I had to put him in the hall at times, just to have a small respite . His talking out in class and shifting around in his chair was endless. He could never sit still . Within a split second, he could be out of his seat and bothering someone else. Teachers in my hallway would laugh at how many times in a day I would be calling out his name, attempting to stop the behavior of the moment.
One day, Jimmy told me he was moving. Silently, as a second year teacher, I was overjoyed. The joy was too brief, as the school secretary soon called me in to say Jimmy’s parents wanted him to remain with me, though they were moving out of district. All I could do was start laughing. I might not have recovered if I had taken the route of uncontrollable tears.
It came time for the planning of the classroom Valentine party. While asking for volunteers to bring the needed goodies, Homer’s hand shot up, having a huge grin on his face. He said he would bring the cake, one his mom would make. I was speechless, not quite sure how to respond to this. Of course, Jimmy popped out of his seat when Homer made his announcement. He was running from student to student, to whisper in an ear. I called out his name once again, asking what he was doing. He said he had to talk to me in the hall. Outside the door, he looked up at me, saying he was telling each person in the class they had to take a piece of cake and say thank you, no matter what! I was left speechless once again, seeing Jimmy’s true heart .
The cake did come and Homer was most proud. My class could not have behaved any better, actually taking nibbles of the cake to please him. I learned that day how caring these children were. It taught me the wisdom to accept everyone and what gifts they offer.
What a ray of sunshine it was, to see Homer’s smile that day. I can still see it, just as I can see Jimmy running from desk to desk to deliver his message.
I thanked God for this beautiful group of children. He had made them into splendid creatures.
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