Perseverance
Last week, Hubby and I got to dress up, put our grown up faces on and enter the world of first graders to present the topic of “Perseverance” to Giant’s class. As March’s Character Education volunteers, we got to sit knee-to-knee with the children, read a story and talk about what it really means to stick with a task or a challenge until the end. We got to ask the children questions and we tackled some pretend scenarios together, deciding whether the main character demonstrated perseverance or not. When we asked the children what perseverance means to them, we got various answers ranging from being nice to each other to being a good problem solver. The children were lively, engaged and thoughtful. And frankly, they were adorable.
When we walked out of the classroom, Hubby and I compared notes. Both of us were struck by the range of children who were eager to be a part of the experience and volunteered to come up before their classmates to read. Being first graders, there was quite a range of reading skill. Some children were able to read their scenarios smoothly and with confidence. Others, however, barely spoke above a whisper. They stumbled over some words. Still others needed more support to string the letter sounds together to make words come alive.
I was most impressed with this last group of students. These children were brave! They demonstrated perseverance right in front of their classmates. They stuck to the task at hand and saw it through until the end. Did their peers notice? I sure hope so.
A high five goes out to these children. You may never know it, but as visitors to your classroom, Hubby and I were so proud of you as you struggled, yet ultimately saw that your job was done well and to the best of your ability.
Keep practicing young ones. And never, ever give up. That is perseverance. Thank you for the opportunity to witness it.
Photo source:
Source: http://www.fotosearch.com/BLD026/bld051783/
