One particular experience solidified my belief that all children are capable when provided with a compassionate environment where safety and connection come first. I believe that children have the innate right to this type of environment and it is my goal to guide parents to a place where they feel confident that they can successfully provide this for their children on a daily basis. Please read this story with an understanding that this is my perspective of one experience and I do not assume the stereotyping mentioned is reflective of the cultures or communities involved. 

While teaching English at an elementary school in Spain, I was exposed to the biases the local teachers had towards the students they labeled as “gypsies”.  Teachers openly shared their beliefs about these students; “They don’t know any English”, “They don’t want to learn”, “They only come to class because the government pays their families to send them to school”. I had observed that the “gypsy” students generally sat in the back of the class, usually talking to each other and not participating in the lessons. One day, two of these students sat idly during the beginning of the cut and paste vocabulary activity I was teaching when I realized they didn’t have scissors. Upon asking the lead teacher if there were extra scissors they could use, I was shocked to hear her answer (within earshot of the entire class), “For them? Don’t worry about them. They don’t want to learn.” She then scolded the two students in Spanish before finally handing them scissors. Rather than focusing on the shocking way the teacher had responded to her students, I put my energy towards making these students feel that I cared about them and not only did I expect them to participate in the lesson, but I believed that they could do it. And despite us speaking different languages, my message was clear. I checked in with these students very frequently as I continued teaching, repeating the directions for them step by step and giving them feedback. Halfway through the activity, one of the two students calls my name and asks, “Like this?”, showing me his work, which was completed correctly. In this moment it was obvious that these children, despite the labels that had been placed on them, wanted to learn and were capable of doing so. For the rest of the lesson, the two students continued to check in with me, rather than me checking in with them. This moment has stuck with me for the past 5+ years, shaping who I am as a person, how I show up as a teacher and coach, and the parent I hope to one day become.