Today I had a visit from a Lafayette graduate who is now in 9th grade at Wilson. He came by, he said, to apologize to me. He hugged me and said, "Ms. Ryden, I'm sorry for all the **** I gave you in Peace class!" I laughed because what I remembered about him was that he was a skeptic who found Peace class a little too "touchy-feely" for his taste. But then he said, "You know, I never appreciated what I was learning in Peace class at the time, but all through middle school I found that I was using the stuff you taught me all the time. I guess I had to get a little more mature to realize it." He talked about thinking about other people's feelings, understanding his own, and using the conflict resolution skills he learned at Lafayette. Hearing a story like this obviously warms my heart because as teachers we never know whether or not we are really having an impact on a child. It's a good reminder that we really don't know what is going on in a child's mind and we never know if the seeds we plant when they are young are going to grow and flower. It's good to know that sometimes those flowers can bloom in the most unlikely places!
If you would like to find out more about what your child is experiencing in Peace Class come to our event, "Mindfulness and Your Child" on Thursday April 3rd at 7pm (right after the HSA general meeting). Feel free to contact me for more information at linda.ryden@dc.gov.
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