Acceptance

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For more reasons than I can describe one of the children I have previously known sticks in my mind as remarkably significant. He was a darling, yet slightly awkward, 5 year old boy. Because of the profound neglect and exposure to violence he had experienced, this child struggled to relate to others. His subsequent home disruptions, and rejection by caregivers left him feeling isolated and at fault for all of the troubles he faced. As a result, he often sabotaged relationships just to control the inevitable.  About four years ago, I walked into the quiet area of our classroom, and sat down to ask if I could play with him.

"No thank you," he sighed.  "I want to play with a human."

Understandably, I balked at this response. I tried to explain to him that even though I was, in his eyes, a teacher, I was a member of the homosapien species with which he identified.

He didn't believe me.  A nearby colleague, having heard the conversation, attempted to assist by explaining that despite his beliefs "teachers are humans too," but the tow-headed child just looked at us sympathetically and shook his head.  His expression was clear: these creatures don't understand what I'm saying. So, we agreed to disagree, and I sat quietly by as I watched this perpetually lonely boy wait for another (human) child to ask him to play.

I initially struggled to understand this interaction, and I ultimately wrote it off as a "kids will be kids" expression. When I pause to reflect upon this amusing memory now, I am struck with how incongruent that interpretation is with my own beliefs.

I wholeheartedly believe that children are amazingly intelligent. Children hold a special kind of intelligence that is remarkably self-aware and intuitive when you are able to interpret it.  It seems to me that, often, children struggle emotionally because they do not have the words to communicate what they know and what they feel.  Many times we, as adults, do not understand what they are saying to us, and we respond with patronizing laughs that disregard their experiences.

When I remember this outlook, and think about my role in this boy's life.  His meaning was actually quite clear. He may as well have said:

"You're not the same as me."  

"You don't know what it's like."

"I want to belong."

Now that this message is clear, I think it's an important one to remember.  The truth is, no matter how my rapport with this boy was, no matter how much he felt supported by me, and no matter how much he claimed to like me, I could never truly understand where he was coming from.  The sense of belonging and relief that comes from being understood on that level is a support that cannot be manufactured or taught in school.