Christmas at school

I work as an English teacher in one of the respectable schools. My particular class of 11-year olds is considered to be a challenge by the principal and staff. I am their fourth teacher this year, as no one could cope with their behavioral issues. 

We were approaching the closing of the school year and the final concert. The children were not manageable and didn’t seem to care about the concert, or anything else. When thinking about how to bring Christmas to them and motivate them to rehearse, a friend gave me an idea to write each one a scroll and make brownies. 

A box for a brownie

I had to prepare13 scrolls and bake 13 brownies. My own children were helping me in choosing the materials, making boxes, baking brownies, and searching through pictures for the ones that would match with each scroll.   

In the scrolls I wrote how happy I was to be their teacher this year and what I liked about each one of them. I also included a prayer to receive Jesus there. A home-made brownie was meant to be a reward for a good performance at the concert. 

I prayed desperately that children would catch the fun of being on stage. It is incredible to see the difference in my class every time I pray. The transformation is so vivid. I didn’t have to do anything – I just mentioned to a leader of the group, that they might not be as sharp as the rest of the kids due to lack of practice. 

A letter-scroll for a girl

She took it from there. She organized everyone to do their part, they modified the play, worked out the prompts, skipped the recess to practice more, arranged the stage time for rehearsals, negotiated with the principal the changes to the script, etc. etc. I just watched. After all was done, I gave out the scrolls and let each one pick their little box with the present (they didn’t know that there was a brownie inside). They were so touched, and said that I was the only teacher who did something for them, or seemed to care about them at all. 

Shortly, a boy brought me flowers, one mother thanked me for writing a personal letter for her son, and another girl brought me a present, too. It was a beautiful time when we exchanged our mutual appreciation. My principal was very happy with the idea of personalized messages and brownies. 

Kids were coming to me, so I could pray for them to not be nervous and just enjoy themselves. The concert was a success, everyone returned home tired and happy.