Notes from public school - day 64

As a teacher and a writer, the 3 C’s are important  to me -

Compassion

Commitment

Creativity

I try to teach out and write out and live out the meanings of these words each and every day.

Today, I was helping one of my students by stacking his notebooks and chrome book for his afternoon classes.

He has a disorganized brain (like his teacher), but he is a smart and kind kid.

I’m thankful he’s in my classroom this year.

As I was turning his notebooks around, a piece of loose leaf paper fell out of the side of one of them.

I picked it up.

There was a cartoon on it, one he had written and illustrated at home all on his own.

You can read and see it below.

You have to love a graphic novel with, “They would win every time until...the Evil Poop comes!!!” as the cliffhanger.

Who doesn’t need a superhero to help us overcome the evil poop?

“Alex,” I said to him as we were eating lunch, “Your cartoon is GREAT! You are a graphic novelist, you know. You could be a writer and illustrator when you grow up.”

He is usually a verbose kid (we’ve been working on him raising his hand before he says anything during whole group lessons, and he’s still struggling after 1/3 of the school year).

He was suddenly silent and mesmerized by my words.

He smiled a big, 4th grade smile at me.

“Gee, you’re right, Mr. Barton. I could do that.

I mean, I’m planning on being a professional basketball player or a rapper, but if those things don’t work out then I can be a writer and an illustrator.”

(In my humble opinion, I don’t believe his first two options are going to work out).

I smiled a big, teacher smile back at him.

“Well, it’ll be good to have a plan C.”

And there before me, at a lunch table at a public school on an ordinary Wednesday, one of my big 3 C’s bloomed like a sunflower in a plowed field.

Creativity.

I love it.