The Year from Hell

Kelli believes that her ability to engage her students is a function of her own development. She speaks of a particularly important episode in which her assumptions about teaching were challenged and ultimately transformed. She came away from the episode with a new view of herself, her students, and what it means to teach.

She told us that her first year of teaching was “stellar.” Her second year was “the year from hell.” She had many children who were challenging. One was a “belligerent, mouthy, holy terror.” On a particularly bad day, she saw him crawling on his belly at the door of her classroom. She lost her temper and moved toward him in anger. As he scurried out of her way, she turned away from him, slammed the door shut, and walked to the principal’s office. She told her principal that she could no longer deal with this student, so the student was subsequently removed from her classroom.

This event was deeply troubling to Kelli, so she went to some experienced colleagues for advice. Their advice led to a turning point in Kelli’s career. They said, “You have to realize early on that you are not the key to every door.”

As Kelli recounted that conversation, she became visibly upset. She fought to compose herself and then looked up and said with conviction, “I hated that.” She went on to tell us of a vow she took that day: “I told myself, I’m not taking that. I’m going to figure out how to meet the needs of those kids.”