He explained to me that as he was leaving campus to pick up lunch, one of our older kids asked him where he was going. When he told the boy he was going to Carl's Jr. (not a sponsor of this post, sadly), the boy responded, "Can you get me a Bacon Western Cheeseburger?" And knowing my staff member can be a bit of a sass, he responded, "Yea, right. In your dreams."
My staff member continues, telling me that as he was ordering at Carl's Jr., he thought, why not? and ordered a Bacon Western Cheeseburger for this kid, delivering it back to him in the lunchroom without much of an explanation.As he's telling me the story, the smile on his face is getting bigger and bigger. I then also see this kid walk through the cafeteria with a HUGE smile on his face, trailed by 5 of his friends, loudly asking questions and laughing.
The thing about this story is this. This burger-receiving kid is not the easiest of kids we work with. But as most times we find, this kid also comes from quite a bit of trauma at home. He has had a front row seat to things like death and illnesses (both physical and mental) in his family over the course of the last few years.
We know that kids who experience trauma come to us with a myriad of issues that hinder them from being ready to learn. Sometimes, these issues present as kids being disrespectful, defiant and sometimes just being a pain.
As educators, we develop behavior charts, behavior contracts, incentive charts; we set goals, monitor and adjust goals, collect data, celebrate when kids earn their rewards and encourage them along the way. We celebrate wins and feel frustrations when the wins come so very slowly.
But then there are times when we just do things for kids. We buy them a cheeseburger because we care. We want to bring a highlight to the day with no strings attached. No incentive. No earned reward. Just a Bacon Western Cheeseburger.
These people (like this staff member) are my heroes. They inspire me to let go of control, contracts, reward systems, etc. and just do great things for kids. Just because.
It serves as a reminder to me that we serve kids. Even the kids with the biggest behavior challenges are just that. Kids. Little adults we are shaping and making impressions on.
And they sometimes deserve Bacon Western Cheeseburger. Just because.
