Today, when I dismissed my first period class, one young man dawdled behind everyone else.
He paused when the other students had left and asked, almost shyly, if I would teach him to knit.
I was quite surprised.
As you know, I have got an unofficial knitting group going at school. Quite a few young ladies stop by my classroom during lunch and knit. I have new “members” weekly, so requests for lessons are not uncommon.
What is rare, however, is the request coming from a male student.
Oh sure, I’ve had a few guys joke around, but none of the young men have been serious.
I told my student that yes, I would teach him to knit, and we proceeded to figure out when our schedules would allow for a lesson or two.
At one point, I asked him if there was something in particular that he wanted to learn to knit.
THAT was the magical question.
He explained that he wanted to learn to knit so he could fix something, and then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a pair of sweatpants.
Oh, these weren’t ordinary warmups.
They were the pair issued by his JROTC instructor.
He showed me a large hole that he’d gotten playing something…some teenage outdoor activity…during the Christmas break.
He explained that he was unable to turn in the pants until they were fixed.
Honestly, I’m not really sure the “why’s” of it, but all I knew was that I had a young man…very polite gentleman…in my room trying to solve a problem.
My heart went out to him.
I told him that the sweatpants weren’t knit, and that the hole would require a needle and thread…possibly a patch even.
His face fell…
Until I asked him if he would like me to try to fix the hole.
Then, he smiled and nodded.
He handed over the pants, and I asked him if he still wanted to learn to knit.
He hesitated before politely telling me that maybe, at some point, he would because it’s probably a valuable skill to have.
Smart guy, eh?
😀
When I got home, I got out my needle and DMC floss left over from my cross stitching days, and off to work I went…
It’s amazing how God prepares us for even small tasks. My knitting experience, along with some of the seaming I’ve learned along the way, helped me piece together the fragments of fabric around the hole.
I tried hard to make it as unnoticeable as possible.
Although you can see where some “work” was done, overall, I don’t think the effort was for naught…
I stitched over the area twice.
Boys will be boys, and I don’t want the area to rip the first time my student takes a stroll or jog in the sweatpants.
I’m so thankful for the opportunity the Lord provided to be of more use than just teaching reading strategies.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it many, many times before I retire one year in the very-distant future…
Teaching is more than imparting book knowledge to students.
It’s so much about creating relationships that are grounded on sincerity and trust.
You can’t teach a child if he/she doesn’t know that you care.
In fact, I’ve discovered that the world, in general, operates this way.
People want to know that they are cared about, and they’ll move heaven and earth to be there for you in return once that relationship is established.
On a day when it was hard to get up with the alarm clock…the first day back to school after the long, two-week Christmas break, this interaction with my student was such a blessing.
I hope he knows that every stitch, as imperfect as they are, came from a heart that loves the charges I’ve been given to care for.
Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: education, sewing, teaching | 5 Comments »
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