College Colors Day

Our College Colors day on Friday was so much fun. The “tailgate” party we had in the cafeteria was a bit wild and a lot loud, but it was a fantastic way to end the week and begin our long Labor Day weekend. It was great seeing the children in all their college colors. As you would expect in any South Carolina school, there was a pretty even mix of orange and black-not for Halloween, but of course for Clemson and USC. But what I found unusual was the vast spread of other college choices-Spellman, Wofford, UNC, Western Carolina, Winthrop, and even one Harvard. 

As I took pictures and interacted with the students, it got me thinking about how vastly different our students are. Just as we had a variety of colleges represented on Friday on tshirts, jerseys, and hoodies, there are other differences in our children. We have some of the most shy children I’ve ever been around. We have one child who I really wonder if she has or will ever speak to me. We have some who are so loud and boisterous that you know the second they walk into the building. We have some students who are reading well above grade level and some who are years behind where they should be academically. We have some students who are very mature and others who lack maturity. We have some who everyone-students and teachers alike-love and others who have very few “in their corner”. We have students who have a loving home with both a mom and dad, and we also have 2 moms homes, 2 dads homes, single parent, being raised by grandparent, and even foster children. We have home dwellers, apartment livers, and even homeless children. We have just about every ethnicity powerschools allows. We have numerous religious and non-religious backgrounds. As I looked at the variety of team choices, the one common denominator was that they were our students.  

During lunch I got some boos from some non-Clemson fans. I explained to these students that it was okay not to be a Clemson fan, but we had to respect each other’s choices. It made me wonder, how many of our students feel “booed” by their differences.  The best piece of advice I ever received as a first year teacher was to remember that my job is to teach the students I have-not the ones I used to have or the ones I wish I had or the ones the teacher next door has, but to teach those I have right now-all of them-even with their flaws. Even if their coach goes for it on 4 and 4 instead of kicking a field goal. Don’t ever boo your students.