Mrs. Kramer’s 1970s Childhood Challenge

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2021 Issue

By Kristina Kramer

After 30 years of teaching and 14 years of being a parent, it wasn’t the books, the courses, or the counseling that would so clearly encapsulate the purpose of my job as an educator and a mom. It would be a 30-second video clip of a 10-year-old boy on a bike that would pierce my heart and show me what is really important in this world.

It was May of 2020, and I was scrolling through my emails after a long day of Zoom and Google Classroom. My eyes were getting bleary, so I took off my Telluride ballcap (brought out especially for our “wear a hat to Zoom class” day) and popped on my blue light glasses before checking one last email, from the parent of a student that I was a bit worried about.

The email contained a video of Jake, who was new to my school that year. Jake struggles with anxiety and goes to therapy for food aversion. And now, Jake stays home while his dad works on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The video showed Jake attempting to ride a bicycle for the first time. It was a spring morning and the birds were chirping in the background, along with the sounds of the chimes on the front porch where Jake’s mom was filming from. I held my breath as Jake shakily took off down the driveway and wobbled slowly onto the road, then I let out a sigh of relief as he kept peddling. His blue jacket flew behind him like Superman’s cape, while his mom whispered encouragement the entire time. When Jake finally stopped and turned to look into the camera, he was beaming from ear to ear.

In that moment, Jake wasn’t the kid with anxiety or the kid with tactile issues. He was just Jake, a boy on a bicycle.

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Kristina Kramer has been teaching grades 1–8 for 31 years. She has a Master’s degree in literacy and is also an adjunct professor at Wheeling University in Wheeling, WV. She leads professional development workshops in the areas of reading and writing. In her free time, she explores the great outdoors through biking, hiking, traveling, and gardening. She currently lives in Wheeling with her husband and son.

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Kristina Kramer
Kristina Kramer
Kristina Kramer has been teaching grades 1–8 for 31 years. She has a Master’s degree in literacy and is also an adjunct professor at Wheeling University in Wheeling, WV. She leads professional development workshops in the areas of reading and writing. In her free time, she explores the great outdoors through biking, hiking, traveling, and gardening. She currently lives in Wheeling with her husband and son.

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