I live by the maxim “I will trust you until you prove me wrong”. Last year, I was tested by a little girl in my classroom who was ALWAYS telling extravagant stories that I knew were not true. These stories then turned into excuses as to why she didn’t have her homework finished, why she was late, or why she wasn’t completing her work. I began to get frustrated with what seemed like a lack of effort. So, I asked her one day to tell me about her life. She told me a lot and most of it I believed. I felt as though our relationship grew but the extravagant stories continued. That same week a police officer came to our school to talk about “Good Touches and Bad Touches.” Afterwards the students filled out a questionnaire that was collected by the guidance counselor and she followed up with every student who had reported a “bad touch”. My student was one of them. Most of the students just had a misunderstanding of what a “bad touch” was but my little girl -- she was being abused by a family member. My heart hurt for her. I felt that we had connected and even though I didn’t trust her every word, I knew that she trusted me because I had never lied to her. This experience caused me to reevaluate myself as a teacher and as someone my students need. My students all need me in different ways and some need me more than others. This little girl needed me and I don’t think I was there for her. I was too worried about being able to trust her that I didn’t pay attention that we hadn’t connected enough for her to trust me. She moved away a few weeks later to get away from the abuser, but I still think about her. Thanks to this little girl, I am now constantly working on my relationships with my students to make sure they know I care and I am here for them no matter what. I sit with them and talk. We laugh together, we work hard and we share things. I make sure that my students know that there is always an open line of communication. And I always trust them, but now I know that sometimes I have to earn their trust.
