That Day at Jefferson Elementary…

At an intersection of my growing disdain with corporate life and a desire to pursue more meaningful work that spoke to my essence, it was around this time three years ago that I met the requirements to become a Substitute Teacher in the Allentown School District, located in the Lehigh Valley section of Pennsylvania.

A couple of months into my role, I met *Rakim, (I’ve changed his name to protect his identity) a tall and big for his age second grader in the class to which I was assigned for the day. Due to his behavior the previous day, an assistant warned me that he would be a problem. I thanked her, advised her that I would speak with him, and expressed confidence that we would be fine.

I called Rakim over to my desk, introduced myself, and asked him about what happened in class the previous day. He explained that he acted out the way that he did in response to being bullied by other kids. He ‘reasoned’ that if the other kids saw him ‘wilding out,’ they would think that he was ‘crazy’ and wouldn’t bother him. I acknowledged his ‘rationale,’ but explained that turning over desks, yelling, and throwing things was not the way to handle that. I suggested better ways to deal with this issue and explained to him how I could help. He listened, then went back to his desk so that we could start class. All told, Rakim, the class, and I had a pretty decent day.

My rotation as a District Substitute Teacher (for slightly higher pay, I received my assignments on the day of based on need instead of ahead of time) brought me back to Rakim’s school a couple of weeks later. While standing in a hallway waiting to enter the class I was assigned for the day, he approached me. Looking up with a sense of wonder, he said these words that I’ll never forget:

“Where were you? I needed you. I didn’t ever want you to leave.”

Surprised and touched, I explained to Rakim that I have different assignments each day and I was asked to serve at another school. We chatted for a little bit longer and after walking away, he came back and gave me the piece of candy pictured in this post. I accepted it as his way of saying that our connection meant something to him.

I was blessed to have different types of success when I worked in corporate America for the better part of 25 years. But no promotion, bonus, title, company car, or award can compete with Rakim’s simple words and gesture that day at Jefferson Elementary.

None.