Thanks to a Teacher, I Learned from a Child

45 Replies

The long-awaited last day of school has finally arrived.

AJ excelled in the 6th grade, and while he did well grade-wise, I mean more that he excelled as a person and grew quite a bit emotionally, and I believe his teachers played a huge part in that.

All of his teachers were amazing and deserve gratitude and thanks; however, one teacher stands out in particular. This particular teacher helped AJ develop his love for history.  And adventure. And the ancient aliens who may or may not have built the pyramids (more on that later… ).

The last essay AJ wrote for this teacher was about “Grit.”  This was not a required assignment.  But from what I understand, quite a few students completed it, including AJ.  Their reward?  A hat that says “Grit.”  Just one more way to get the kids to think and to write.  On their own.  Without any pressure of a grade or a deadline.  “Learn to love learning;” one of the first steps to school success, in my opinion.

Thank you, Mr. Larson, for inspiring my child to be the best that he could possibly be.  You have made a tremendous impact on AJ’s learning, and for that, we are extremely grateful.  He wears that hat with pride.

And for all the other teachers out there who inspire our kids, thank you so much for what you do. May you all have a happy and relaxing summer holiday!  You’ve certainly earned it!

In case you’re curious about what my kid wrote… here ya go:

What is grit? Grit could mean sand, or it could mean that you never give up and keep trying. Determined, brave, toughness–all of these things could mean grit, but there are a lot more words that can mean grit.

I would like to tell you a story of a man named James Edward Howard. He is my great-great grandfather that fought in World War 1. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK, on the 4th of April 1890. During the war, he transferred to the Royal Engineers from the Suffolk Regiment. He died June 1st, 1929. He was at the battle of Ypres when he got badly gassed. After the war was done, he suffered very poor health due to the mustard gas. His last few years, he was in and out of the hospital as he developed Tuberculosis which was his cause of death. He survived for 15 years after the war and after being gassed. This man had a lot of grit to be ill and survive for that long. That is why I wanted to share this story with you.

I used grit last year. I came through a tough time when my grandma and uncle died within a few months of each other. The thing is I didn’t get sorry for myself or get sad, I just accepted the way things happened. My cat also died 2 months after my grandma died. He had been around me my whole life but I kept fighting and never got sad or anything, and that is how I used grit.

That wraps up my whole grit essay. I hoped you learned a little more about me. Always remember to never give up, there is always hope.

Thanks to a teacher, today I learned from a child.  I learned “… there is always hope.”

45 thoughts on “Thanks to a Teacher, I Learned from a Child”

  8. Angela

    Please let my awesome nephew know he made his aunt cry…. and his message of hope is just what we all need in this very screwey time we live in. Your part of the post was pretty awesome too….
    Love you all!😺

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  10. wanderwolf

    Love the idea of Mr. Larson, love the hat and love the essay. I think it’s cool that a personal hero of his is in his own family, and how he was able to write about it. I know how hard last year was for you, but reading how AJ responds to it, I learned a bit about him and his grit too. Really neat that you shared this. And congrats on having summer vacation now!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  15. Cave_Guy

    My first time reading a blog again in forever – and I stumble upon a story of someone from Ipswich — I was born there – my former home — grit is still a valued commodity, that is good to see!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. neveradullbling Post author

      That’s awesome. My husband is from Ipswich, his grandparents having survived the bombings from the wars, which yours obviously did too. Hopefully your football loyalty is to the Town then? 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  17. Lady G

    OMG! He is my hero! The fact that he can truly appreciate and connect his family history to his own experiences! Amazing!
    By the way, please tell him that “grit” is the singular form of one of his Auntie LadyG’s favorite breakfast meals!
    GRITS! YAAAASSSS!
    But seriously, you and your hubby have clearly raised a very intelligent and self-aware young man 🙂 kudos to him, his parents and his teacher 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. neveradullbling Post author

      Awww, you are so wonderful Gwin, thank you!! Okay, truth be told, I’ve never had grits before, although ever since My Cousin Vinny, I’ve wanted to try them, hehe! So remember Flo from Alice?? Hahaha, yet possibly another definition of the word, 😃. Good to see you my friend!! xx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
      1. Lady G

        Thank you darling!
        Girl when y’all run into Georgia I’ll make you guys a heaping bowl of grits with butter and whatever topping you like–typically it’s something savory like ham, bacon, cheese–I’ve even done boneless, skinless salmon on top 🙂 Oh and my cousin Vinny was a hoot what with the two yoots and all! LOL! And Alice was the very first Girls Raised In the South (GRITS) hero! LOL!

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s