CJ touched my heart

I was a kindergarten teacher right out of college.  The first year I took an internship position and the second year I was a teacher in a rural Ohio school.  It was during this second year that I met CJ.  He was bright and disruptive and had a smile that could melt your heart.  His family was not interested in his education and you could see it in his attitude and behavior, but boy was he able.  I must admit 23 years later, he was that child you run across only once or twice in your career that you could really take home.

I worked hard with CJ to move him forward and have him ready for first grade.  At the end of that school year I decided to relocate to another state so I was not sure how he progressed.  2 years later CJ's second grade class was doing a letter writing project and out of the blue I received a really kind note from CJ.  I could not believe it.  You cannot imagine what that note meant to me, but what it also did was instill in me the notion that as an educator you have the ability to make a lasting impression, good or bad.  I know that I had made CJ's first formal educational experience memorable and positive.  He may not remember me now, but I sure remember him!