I Love Edgar Ruiz - Part 2

Part 2: What I bring to Edgar

Being a sunny Friday, I expected the students to be a little louder than usual. We had just returned from an exciting assembly about tobacco use, which the students enjoyed. There wasn’t much time left till the end of the day and everything had gone well. As I take place at the back of the classroom to observe the classroom, I noticed Edgar beginning to drift. I immediately left my post and new I had to redirect Edgar before things got out of control. I wanted to save the day and have us make it through positively.

I knelled over and asked Edgar if everything was fine. He replied, “yes” as he laughed and was focused on distracting two other students. I pulled a chair and tried to remind him of our lists and how he needed to “win the match.” I opened the book and ask him if he wanted to win. He quickly got a little more serious and said he wanted to. He kept going back and forth from the disruptive student to a quiet scare child. At this point, I wasn’t so concerned with him following the lesson but being able to sustain his involvement in the classroom.

Not knowing exactly what to do, I relied on his interests and began to write him questions about wrestling. He was resisting saying he was thirsty for water. I ignored his request and kept asking him about wrestling. He eventually began to respond to my questions and was now focused on our written conversation. At this point, I acknowledge his need and made a deal with him-make it till 2:00PM and we will go to the drinking fountain. He agreed and we pressed on.

Edgar began to write out all the title matches, the different weight classes, and each wrestler’s nickname. He was busy at work and for a moment he returned to the math lesson on the board and I helped him contribute an answer. We then quickly got back to our writing and he had me guess who I thought would win. We reached a comfortable stride, which meant a lot for me.
2:00PM eventually came around and as I promised, we walked to the drinking fountain on the third floor. I felt he needed and earned five minutes and therefore we took a small walk to the stairs down and back up again. But, before returning to the classroom, I suggested going to the third floor to tell an administrator about his progress. “You are winning the match Edgar! You are doing well but remember you will have to defend your title on Monday.” I told him. “You are right. And the day after that, and the day after that.” We finally reached the administrator but she was busy, instead he shared his success with two teachers. One of them began to ask him about his benchmark scores. The creative genius he is, Edgar replied with “we [Literacy] don’t get along.”

We then left and made it back to the classroom. Everyone was working on an assignment and Victor quietly transitioned back in the classroom. Things continued well until the last 15 minutes as the class was preparing to leave. I had to redirect his attention but nonetheless, Victor made it through holding the title belt in the air as a champion. And I left feeling an incredible love for my student.

I will always love and remember Edgar Ruiz.