Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2016 Issue
By Catherine Hickey
Sandra lives in a rooming house and arrived from Honduras last year. She is grateful for clean drinking water. Jasper has chronic arguments with his older brother, yet he is grateful for family. Gerard becomes frustrated and angry when he must do schoolwork. Today, he is grateful for his classroom teacher.
Despite the fact that these students are preoccupied with more than studying for tests, they willingly express gratitude each morning. Often, we forget our students come to class each day with a lot more on their minds than academics. Not unlike teachers, they are encumbered with problems at home, in the community, or simply with themselves. This burden can interfere with the ability to become a successful learner.
Catherine Hickey has taught in the Rockland BOCES Intensive Day Treatment Program in West Nyack, NY, for 19 years. She has a MSEd from Iona College, as well as a Professional Certificate in Literacy from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, NY.
