Critical Narrative Teaching Story

Freddy Finally Smiles
I unlock my classroom door and am immediately met with the happy and colorful, but always busy, home away from home that I have worked so hard to create for my students. All summer long, but especially during the last few weeks of summer vacation, I have thought about and worked on ways to make our classroom even more inviting and exciting. I want my students to love coming to school each day and be as excited as I was as a small child when I came to school each day.
As was my intent, the first thing that meets my eye is the class Book Nook Haven that I want my students to immediately notice first thing each morning. I hope it will always shout out “Welcome” to my students as they enter our classroom each day. I so want to share with them my joy and love of learning and of reading and books.
It’s the first day of the new school year. I am as excited, enthusiastic and anxious as I imagine my students probably are, despite the fact that we have already spent a wonderful year together.
I have missed each and every one of them, despite or maybe it is really in spite of, all their unique personalities and little quirks. I think back to all the happy hours we have spent together having fun learning and how much each of them have grown in so many ways. I am really looking forward to another year of working with “my little chicks” as I lovingly call them and in helping each continue their wonderful progress.
I am saddened that a few have left our “school family” and silently wish them good wishes in their new classrooms. Each of them will be sorely missed, but I am thankful to have another year with those that will still stay with me this year. I think back to how upset I initially was when our principal first told me what my assignment last year would be to do Senior K for that year and then loop with them to first grade the next. I really didn’t want to do this but now I look back and smile at how drastically my feelings have changed. I felt so
appreciative that I would have the opportunity to continue working with them. We had after all become so connected to one another that we were what I truly considered to be a school family.
As they file into our classroom with smiles and hugs that melt me on the spot I feel my eyes well up with tears of happiness and joy at seeing each again, I silently count each as one of my blessings and I can’t wait to begin our new year and journey together.
And then the classroom phone rings. As was the norm last year, most students immediately get quiet while some remind their chatty school brothers and sisters of what they need to do when the teacher is on the phone. I secretly laugh to myself about how easy I think this year will be since all my “chicks” already know the rules and procedures of our classroom.
But, as luck will have it, my school family is about to change, and in ways I never would have expected. I am informed that there will be a new student joining our classroom and that although he is already seven, he not only doesn’t speak any English but has never been in school before. My immediate thought is panic, and that surely someone in the office has made a huge mistake.
When Freddy first appeared at our classroom door it was quite obvious from his body language that he did not feel at all comfortable. He was extremely shy and withdrawn and in fact seemed almost fearful. But yet, while his apprehension was so clearly evident, his eyes panned the room as he frantically tried to look around and take it all in. He seemed overwhelmed, but yet very intrigued and interested in everything he saw. His eyes were elusive but yet busily catching glimpses of all that he could. They showed me intelligence and a keen desire to learn, a desire so much more intense and holding more personal drive than I could have ever imagined. I’m sure it all seemed like a vast sea of unknown and unfamiliar faces but yet he still continued to take in as much as he possibly could in his furtive glances. As his grandfather pushed him inside the classroom doorway his tall lanky frame mulishly contorted as he frantically tried to resist and fight against his grandfather’s push. His beautiful brown telling eyes seemed to plead with both his grandfather and I to give him more time to adjust to this new turn of events. As his grandfather finally won the battle of wills and brawn Freddy threw himself down on the floor and burrowed himself into a ball. He refused to make any more eye contact and since his grandfather had made such a speedy escape I wondered what I was to do with Freddy who seemed so unwilling to come any further into the classroom itself. As a somewhat larger and more solid child than others his age I knew I was not going to be able to physically pull him into a seat but that I would have to instead wait for him to want to join us. I could only imagine how lost he must have felt having no knowledge of the English language and no one else in the classroom seeming to speak his native language of Kosrai.
The other children in my class seemed mesmerized by Freddy’s strange behavior. As I glanced around the room at them they all appeared to be staring at Freddy, perplexed and bewildered and even seemed to share my loss at what we should do. Suggestions were thrown out by some such as “Leave him alone for awhile”, “He’s scared by all of us” and even questions like “What’s wrong with him?”. Quickly thinking I knew that the suggestion to leave him be was probably the best plan for the moment. Knowing I needed to restore some sort of normalcy for the rest of the class I decided to call for a class meeting and where else should we go but back in everyone’s favorite place--the Book Nook. As I expected, the children were thrilled to come back to their favorite place in our room and some quickly claimed seats on the child-size furniture proudly stating that is was their right as they were Day 1 on our weekly Book Nook schedule which was posted on the wall. Silently thinking to my self at how quick and clever those children were to make their claim I figured it was best to follow their lead and go with the flow.
Keeping an eye on Freddy with the corner of my eye I felt it was best if I were honest and shared with the other students what little knowledge I had about Freddy. I explained that his family had recently moved from another island in the Pacific where people spoke an entirely different language than what we at school do. I asked them to close their eyes and take a few moments to think about how alone Freddy must feel being uprooted from the only home he had ever known and then plopped down in a whole new place. And, where people spoke in a whole different language. I wondered aloud how Freddy would ever communicate with us.
I then reminded my “chicks” of how we used to visualize or paint pictures in our brains of story events or situations and asked that they now try to put themselves in Freddy’s place in their movies. Many immediately appeared to be deep in thought as they pondered how they might feel and thought about what they could do to help Freddy and make him feel a part of our school family. After a few quiet moments of thought I asked for everyone to take a turn sharing with the group how they had felt when putting themselves in Freddy’s shoes. Reoccurring themes of loneliness, sadness, fear, and abandonment and even anger were all suggested. Many would nod their heads in agreement as their classmates shared and say aloud that they thought or felt that way too.
My next question was to ask my “chicks” what they would have wanted their classmates to do to help them feel more welcome in their new classroom. This time suggestions were made that included their tried and true usual to give him a hug, but they also suggested smiling at him, being his buddy, helping him learn English and using body motions to try and talk with him. I was very proud of them for so quickly feeling so nurturing and loving toward our new student. I felt as if all of my past “sermons” had made a lasting impression on my former “egocentric” 5 and 6 year olds.
Meanwhile, I had noticed that Freddy was slowly beginning to inch his way on the floor, as a crab of insecurity, over to our group. Not wanting one of the children to blurt out a comment causing everyone else to look at him ,raise their voices and/or scare Freddy backwards I took advantage of Freddy not knowing English and explained to the children that we needed to ignore Freddy’s movements and let him slowly join us in his own time. While there were a few stolen glances, most thankfully seemed to understand the need for us to do this and did as requested.
As the students made their way back to their seats a few asked: “Where’s Freddy going to sit?” I quickly glanced around the room noticing that two of the table groups had empty desks. I immediately decided to eliminate one of the tables due to the volatile makeup it was comprised of but figured that the other would be fine. I quickly wrote a name tag for myself and Freddy and walking over to Freddy I showed him the tag pointing to myself and saying Mrs. Carlisle pointing to my desk and then using more body language I walked over and placed his tag on the empty desk telling and showing Freddy that this was his seat.
He shook his head as if saying no, so taking his lead I decided it was best to let him come join us in his own time. I had noticed that as I put his name tag on his desk Freddy’s eyes seemed to show understanding and he almost appeared wistful about not being in his place, which I took as a positive sign. We proceeded with our normal opening exercises and I noticed Freddy actively watching what we were doing. His innate intelligence and desire to learn appeared to be overshadowing his reluctance! As we stood reciting the pledges it almost seemed as if Freddy was going to stand too, but then had second thoughts and instead sat and continued observing. Give him more time I told myself.
When talking about the calendar and number line I noticed that Freddy was again intently listening and observing. It even appeared as if he had inched himself even closer to the group and was now leaning forward as if on the edge of his seat. I was thrilled and silently exchanged smiles with some of my students who had also noticed his interest and were equally thrilled for Freddy. As the morning proceeded with us moving to the back of our classroom Freddy followed along observing and listening to all of our lessons. I soon noticed him squirming a bit and had an Aha moment that perhaps he needed to use the bathroom. I quickly reviewed what we did in writer’s workshop and gave the other students their new writing binders. I walked over to where Freddy was seated and grabbed the Boys bathroom pass from the hook pointing to the picture of the boy, placed it around his neck and beckoned him to follow me. His curiosity seemed to get the better of him as he followed closely behind me to the bathroom around the corner. I first checked to make sure it was unoccupied and urged Freddy to follow me inside. Upon seeing the urinals Freddy’s eyes communicated relief so I left him inside to take care of his need and waited closely outside the door. After a few minutes I went back inside and gesturing around the room very clearly said “Bathroom” which he seemed to be silently repeating to himself. I figured this was a vital and necessary addition to his vocabulary and was glad I had used my teacher instinct in reading his actions and following up with his first vocabulary lesson.
When we returned to the classroom the other children were busily engaged in their writing. I urged Freddy to follow me to my conferencing table and drew a quick picture which I then labeled with easy words---boy, dog, etc. He watched my process and appearing to be very interested I handed him a paper saying “Your turn”. Freddy immediately set to work and I discovered yet another side of Freddy. He loved to draw and was really quite adept at it.
When the recess bell rang I asked a few of the children to walk with Freddy over to the playground area. I tailed closely behind making sure he was following along with them and was relieved to see how happy he appeared to be when included with this small group. The other students were wonderful little teachers modeling how to line up and come back to our room when the bell rang. As they filed back into our room and went to their desks Freddy watched and then surprised us all by going to his too! Progress!
At read aloud time immediately following lunch recess Freddy joined us in the Book Nook but after a few minutes he was out cold. Using a chair seat as a pillow he had fallen into a heavy sleep. We continued with our story letting Freddy sleep and I shared with the children that when English Language Learners are overloaded they will check out like Freddy did with his nap.
It amazed me how understanding the children were in the next few days quickly adjusting to Freddy’s behaviors and trying to help him in any way they could think of. At first Freddy seemed to thrive on all their attention but I began noticing that he also began asserting little signs of independence.
As a strong believer in the power of Bibliotherapy I searched for books that dealt with similar situations in an attempt to extend and expand the students understanding of Freddy’s dilemmas and what we could all do to help him. We continually kept talking and I enlisted them as my co-teachers in helping Freddy learn. We also set a goal for Freddy to finally give us a smile.
Days and weeks and even months flew by and still Freddy did not smile though he now joined the class with all their activities and visibly loved coming back for his guided reading lesson each day. His progress at first seemed slow but his momentum continued to accelerate. He gave 300% to learning all he could and even starting paying more and more attention to our read aloud stories in the Book Nook. But still no smile!
One day after sharing a story about a boy who was always falling asleep in crazy places and positions I decided it was time to share the picture I had taken of Freddy on his first day. I walked around the group sharing the photo finally stopping to show it to Freddy. The students sat quietly waiting and watching for his reaction, silently willing him to smile. And---- he did! I thought I heard a symphony playing as if a movie was being filmed. His smile was contagious as lit up the room and everyone smiled back at him. I felt my eyes begin to well up with tears of joy and yes I even cried. It was a red letter day in my book of teaching and I could not hold back my strong emotions of joy!
From that day forward Freddy rewarded our hard work by sharing his brilliant smile but there were none as sweet or touching as his first, until…. But that is a story for another day.