A little over a year ago, my life changed forever.
As a teacher, I enjoy learning new things. I learn as I read, as I speak with friends and colleagues, as I attend staff development and trainings, and as I take continuing education courses, but the one source that impacts my learning the most is my students themselves. I can honestly say that not a school day goes by without at least one of my students teaching me something.
On Thursday, September 19, 2013, I learned one of the most impactful, valuable lessons from a student that made me do a lot of contemplating and self reflecting. It all started with me issuing a working lunch pass to a student, so she could come to my room with her lunch to catch up on some work the next day. I told her that the pass would get her to the front of the lunch line, so she would have more time to work in my room. Looking at the ground, she quietly told me that she didn’t buy her lunch. Without missing a beat, I responded by telling her to just stop by her locker then, grab her lunch, and come to my room to work. She looked at me, slightly embarrassed, and replied with, “I don’t eat lunch.” Being someone who eats small snacks every couple of hours, I simply couldn’t comprehend how someone could not want to eat lunch, and I said as much to her. The response that I got from her was not at all what I was expecting. She completely shocked me with, “I want to eat lunch. My family just doesn’t have any money for it.” I was rendered speechless for a good 30 seconds as my brain processed the information that blindsided me. I asked her how long she’d not been eating lunch this year, and she shared that it had been every single day. To say this broke my heart would be an understatement. Every day for the first three weeks of school, this girl would come in to my class with a smile on her face, volunteer, and participate, and not once did she ever complain about being hungry.
That evening, I went home still thinking about this girl and the information she confided in me. Of course it really bothered me that this girl hasn’t eaten a lunch in the past three weeks, but she also shared with me that the next day was her birthday, and I was upset by the fact that she may not have a special day. I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t let this girl go hungry another day, especially on her birthday! While I was packing lunches for my husband and I that night, I packed an extra one for her. After sharing my reason for packing an extra lunch with my husband, he handed me $40 to put on her lunch account, so she would not go hungry the rest of the month. I decided to take a picture of the lunch I made for my student and then posted it to my facebook page, sharing her story, and reminding my friends to be grateful for what they had.
The response to this post by my friends was immediate. My notifications started blowing up with people “liking” and “commenting” on this photo. Discussions ensued and people offered to help her out. A school counselor then posted on my photo that she had a twin sister at our school on a different team. Upon finding this out, I marched right back into my kitchen and packed another lunch. This staggering news also affected my friends and traveled like wildfire throughout their facebook pages. I had several friends and co-workers step up and give money for each of their lunch accounts, and several more offered to bring them both small gifts and birthday cake to school the next day. Watching my community of friends pull together to help children they didn’t even know was so inspirational to me; however, the most thought provoking part of my facebook post was a comment that was made encouraging me to start up a food pantry or back pack program at my school to not only help these two girls, but also to help others in the same situation. It was that one comment that stands out in my mind. That one comment made me realize that I needed to do something to help, not just talk about helping, or give money to someone else to help. That comment influenced me, encouraged me, inspired me, and made me realize that I could make a difference in many lives if I was willing to rise to the challenge.
Challenge accepted.
Althea Despina 