A New Journey for Trav

I was cleaning some things out of the cabinet this evening (getting rid of the old, making room for the new). I happened to run across my teaching portfolio. About a month ago I decided to keep my binder somewhere where I could easily grab it to remind myself why I strive to be a teacher. The things inside my binder reminded me of all the reasons why I chose to become a teacher which I have recently learned is different from striving. There is a difference between my reasons for my choice and my reason to strive. That difference is MY SON!


I have learned a lot in the past few months. My son has taught me some of the most important lessons of my life. I look at him and I think back to everything he has endured since his first day of kindergarten. I think about how he regressed and how we struggled to get him to go to school. I look at him today and I am amazed at how far he has come in just a few short weeks. My little boy has fought and he has fought a very hard battle. I sit with him every afternoon and watch him try and try again. He never gives up. He wants so badly to be able to pick up a book and read just like his sisters. He wants to do it all by himself. If he gets something wrong, he starts all over because he wants to be able to get it right. I watch him concentrate on every task he attempts to complete. These are some of the reasons why I strive to become a teacher. No child should ever have to fight their way through learning the way that my son has had to do.

Travin has an amazing mind. He is creative and his imagination can take him places that people like me can only dream of reaching. I realized this year that Travin has a learning style that is very different from that of his sisters. He has never been the one who likes to write (I had to teach him how to spell his name by building it with Legos). He has never been one to like flashcards thus making it a little difficult to get him to recognize his letters and numbers. He just doesn’t really like to sit for long periods of time and he sure as heck doesn’t like to be confined. I quickly learned to adapt to meet his learning needs. He loves music, books, and of course building things. I was able to get him to learn things like his ABC’s, his numbers, his shapes, and his colors by using the things that he enjoys. These aren’t concepts that are out of the ordinary they are just simple ideas to help him learn new things.

I know that most everyone is familiar with everything that Travin has gone through. The first months of kindergarten have been rough and bumpy. We have gracefully managed to get him through every single day. We have taken every day cautiously placing one foot in front of the other. The final blow came yesterday. My son was sent home on the bus when he wasn’t supposed to be. Every Monday the kids stay after school to participate in an after school activity. Usually I am there before school lets out so if there is a mistake (because there has been in the past), I am able to correct it. Yesterday we were under severe weather conditions. It had been raining all day and we were under tornado warning/watch. I showed up to the school after the buses left so that I could park inside the parking lot instead of the field. I was trying to avoid having the kids walk in the rain and the mud. When I made it into the gym, my son was nowhere to be found. I grabbed the girls and quickly ran to his classroom. His teacher “simply” forgot it was Monday and put Trav on the bus. REALLY??? I have never had my heart drop that way before. I had no idea what the bus driver was going to do or where my son was going to end up. I drove home as fast as I could. When we got home, we found Trav sitting in front of the door curled up in a ball, soaking wet, and in tears. He had to walk home by himself in the cold rain. Once again, REALLY????? I don’t think I have ever had so many different emotions run through me so fast. Anything could have happened to my son. ANYTHING!!!

Jason and I went to the principal this morning. Every single emotion that ran through my body came out in her office. Needless to say, Trav has been placed in another classroom. I met with his new teacher this afternoon. She is wonderful and warm and friendly. She gave me the handouts that she was sending home today. She takes the time to type up a weekly newsletter, which means for the first time we will be informed of everything Travin is doing. She provides a monthly calendar. She has arts and crafts planned for the whole month. I know this may sound silly to most of you because it is something that we as parents naturally expect to see but, when I read these papers, I cried. For the first time since Trav started Kindergarten, he will be working on crafts. He will bring something home that he created, something that isn’t criticized for not being perfect. For the first time, he will be doing actual homework and not sitting at the table night after night writing his name over and over again. For the first time, he will be able to be a normal kindergarten enjoying all the things that make kindergarten special, fun, and memorable.

Tomorrow is a new beginning for my son. I know he is scared and he doesn’t understand. I sat with him in his bed tonight and we talked about the changes that were going to take place. I held him in my arms and I told him that I will be there for him no matter what, that I love him, and that I am so proud of him. We talked about the new friends he is going to make and the fun that he will have with his new teacher. It’s a scary journey for him but I really believe that once he gets settled and into a regular routine, his journey will be amazing. I am so very grateful that I will be able to be here with him every step of the way.