A 5th grade student was teary-eyed at the beginning of outdoor "free choice" (outdoor play time) on Tuesday. He was staring across the street as a team of workers chopped down a large tree.
"How could they do that?" He cried.
"It is sad, isn't it..." I replied.
"THAT'S SO WRONG!" he exclaimed.
"You'll have to plant a new tree in it's memory." I said, trying to comfort him.
The student then began to tell me that it wasn't just any tree, but the biggest tree he's ever lived by. And it wasn't just the biggest tree he's lived by, but it was also his favorite tree. And it wasn't just his favorite tree. It was a tree, he said, "That me and my family have special memories with." I asked him if he wanted to share any of those memories with me.
"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, looking away.
"Let's do something fun to get the tree off your mind." I said, as he shook his head no.
I thought for a moment and began to sing:
"I have a friend and his name is.......Kyle
! When I look at him he always....Smiles!"
Referring to a rapping game the student and i sometimes play together. His eyes lit up.
He chimed in:
"I have a friend her name is Erin,
She makes me want to do somethin' darin.
But then I will just get in trouble,
so I go and pop a bubble!"
"NICE!" I exclaim.
As we walked inside a couple of minutes and a couple of raps later, before I could even really assess the situation with a cheesy moral about personal expression and it's impact on mood, the student read my mind and said it himself: "I'm so happy now. Rapping makes me feel so good."
Word.
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