"You Made Me Feel Safe"

We do a writing/art challenge each week at Johnsonville. It’s normal for some challenges to be more popular than others, but last week’s challenge took the prize for most popular challenge ever. The challenge? “If you were a super hero, then what would your super hero name be and what super hero powers would you have? You can also make yourself a villain.” The three most memorable were Super Cheetoh (who turned bad guys into cheetohs so that they could be eaten), Puzzel Master (who is able to easily solve puzzles), and Rotten Tooth Man (who punishes people by making their teeth rot).

We had so many entries last week that I was still sorting through them this week! As such, I didn’t create a normal challenge of the week. Instead, I challenged students to write a thank you note to one of their favorite teachers as an extension of last week’s Teacher Appreciation Week.
My part in the challenge was to sort, compile, and deliver the notes to teachers.

As I was beginning my part today, I found myself smiling quite a bit. It always makes me chuckle to read what goes on inside kids’ minds. But then I came to a note that made me come to a screeching teary-eyed halt. The note very simply said, “In Kindergarten, you made me feel safe…You will always be my favorite teacher.”

When I think of my favorite teacher—my Junior English teacher—I think of a teacher who made me feel safe. At that point in life, I had just moved from the city where I’d grown up and my whole world had turned upside down. In the midst of it all, through her calm, steady presence, my English teacher made me feel safe. And she encouraged me to write. And writing gave me a safe place. For that, I will always be grateful.

What about you? Who was (or is) your favorite teacher? Did he/she made you feel safe? And teachers, are you creating a safe place for your students? Friends: this is your writing challenge of the week! Share your answers here.