FIRST CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 1999

Church and Religious Banners and Clergy / Ministerial and Choir Stoles Pg. 1 by Julie Rodriguez JonesI got my first Christmas present early this year. It arrived yesterday. It was from Jalissa. She came into school before the rest of the kids and said, “here, I’m tired of carrying this around,” and handed me a small red package taped so thoroughly I almost needed a machete to get it open. I said, “thank you Jalissa! Did you know that this is my first ever Christmas present from a student?” and I hugged her. Her cheeks were already rosy from the long walk to school, but they turned redder still as I thanked her.

 Jalissa has difficulty getting along with some of the other students, and she’s a busybody too - so I’m not as close to her as I am to some of the other students. But when she came in yesterday within minutes after I’d finished reading “Three Letters From Teddy,” she got the treatment I realized everyone needs this time of year.

 So what was it? The small red package from the rosy cheeked girl? It was a Christmas tree ornament with the inscription “A+ TEACHER” on it. Jalissa returned my kindness tenfold and got me just the present I needed. Now the real work begins: living up to that A+ grade with all my kids because it isn’t just the polite ones and the smart ones who deserve special attention. Everyone needs to feel wanted and loved and appreciated. I know because I received that treatment from a most unlikely source: Jalissa, the temperamental busybody.

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