Today's Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

Encouraging

by Seema Gersten

It was my very first teaching job, and I was anxious to make an excellent first

impression. I had been hired to lead a vibrant group of four-year-olds. As the

parents escorted children into the room, I attempted to deal with crying kids,

teary-eyed moms and tense dads. Finally, I managed to seat the kids on the

carpet and we were ready to start our " morning circle time. "

We were in the middle of a rousing rendition of " Old Mc " when the door

opened and a mysterious woman entered the room. She stood next to the door

quietly observing the children and me. My voice and smile never faltered, but

quite frankly I was very nervous. Who is this woman? Why is she here? What

exactly is she observing? When I looked up again she was gone.

The day went relatively smoothly, but by the time the last child was picked up,

I was physically and emotionally drained. I longed for a nonfat latte, some

Chopin and a bubble bath. Then my director came in and asked to meet with me

before I left for the day.

My heart raced. Did this have anything to do with the woman who had observed my

class? Did I choose the wrong songs? Was the circle time too long? Too short? By

the time I reached the office, I was an emotional wreck. I sat perched on the

edge of my seat and waited for the axe to fall. My director told me the woman

who had visited my room earlier was a potential parent to the school and was

concerned about how her daughter would function in a regular classroom. Her

little girl was born with a birth defect that required she wear leg braces from

the knees down. The child was ambulatory but walked very slowly with a lopsided

gait. She would need to be carried out to the yard and back to the classroom.

Her balance was poor, and she had a tendency to topple over if she was jostled,

even slightly. We would need to remind the other children to be careful when

walking near her so they wouldn't accidentally cause her to fall.

The director asked me how I felt about her becoming a member of my group. I was

speechless. Here I was wondering if I could possibly survive a school year with

fifteen of the liveliest four-year-olds in North America, and now I was being

asked to take on a child with special needs? I replied that I would accept the

child on a trial basis.

That night I couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned until morning, then drove

to work with my stomach in knots. We were all gathered on the carpet for our

morning circle when the door opened and the woman walked in carrying her

daughter. She introduced herself as 's mommy and she gingerly sat her

daughter down on the edge of the carpet. Most of the children knew from

synagogue and greeted her with warm, affectionate hugs. I looked at and

she looked at me. " Welcome to our room, . We are so excited that you will

be a member of our group. "

The first day went really well; only fell over twice. After several days

of carrying her to and from the yard, I thought, Why not encourage her to walk

down the hallway a little by herself? I asked if she would like to try it,

and she became very excited. The next day I sent the class out to the yard with

my two assistants, and began her first journey down the hallway. She

walked all the way to the next classroom, a total of ten feet. We were both

thrilled! But my assistants were aghast that I was encouraging this poor child

to walk. They pleaded with me to carry her outside and seat her on the bench so

she could watch the other children run and play. " It would be so much easier, "

they murmured. But was persistent and eager to give it her best shot.

And so we began the strenuous task of walking daily down the hall. I winced when

teetered precariously too far to the right, but she just giggled and told

me not to worry, she was perfectly fine. I began to cherish our quiet moments

alone in the hallway, my arms outstretched to help her regain her balance.

always grinned and told me she had never felt better.

Each day and I continued our slow walk down the corridor. I charted her

progress with little pencil marks on the wall. Every few days the pencil marks

got farther and farther apart. 's classmates started to notice and began

cheering for her as she plodded along. After several weeks, made it all

the way to the yard! She positively glowed as the children congratulated her

with gentle pats on the back and warm hugs. My assistants were astonished and

prepared a special snack in honor of 's tremendous accomplishment.

Weeks passed and continued to walk out to the yard every single day. We

rarely carried her as she became more independent.

One week in mid-December, was absent for several days. When I called her

home I was told she was in Manhattan getting her annual checkup with her

doctors. On Monday morning, when her mom brought her back to school, she

inquired if I had been doing anything differently with . I wasn't quite

sure what she meant. Then came the dreaded question: " Have you been forcing

to walk? "

I was dumbfounded. Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged to walk to the yard

every day. Maybe I had caused permanent damage to her weakened legs. Maybe

would need to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

I very softly told 's mom that I had encouraged her to walk outside to the

yard by herself. I explained that she seemed to enjoy walking independently. The

mother gently lifted 's dress to show me that 's knee braces had been

replaced with ankle braces.

" Her legs have gotten more exercise in the past few months than in the past four

years of her life. " She looked at me with tears in her eyes. " I don't know how

to thank you for everything you have done for my daughter. "

I hugged her. " Having as a member of my group has been a privilege. "

Seventeen years later, I still think back to the first time made it down

the long hallway. Whenever I have a bad day teaching and life seems too

overwhelming, I think of and her exuberant smile as she painstakingly

walked down that hallway. She taught me that no obstacle in life is too big to

overcome. You just need to keep working at it-one step at a time.