Giving A Little More

Sophia, my princess

"The medicare teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teachers demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

-William Arthur Ward

I love being Sophia’s dad! We are constantly playing and pretending to build and rebuild her playhouse. During this play session, I am “Daddy, The Builder.” Sometimes,  we play “ball-lee.” Basically, when I retrieve the ball, Sophia jumps on and tackles me. It is very fun!

There are occasions when we play “Great, Great, Great Grandaddy.” With this, I transform into an elderly gentlemen who has wisdom, a raspy voice, and a severe walking problem. 

Also, we play “Ice Cream Shop”, “Grocery Store,” Building Blocks”, read stories, find numbers, watch Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and the list goes on and on. 

Being a parent is by far my greatest accomplishment. My internal beliefs about parenting travels with me to school everyday. With that said, I fully understand at our school there is a student that does not know his/her father. There is a student in our school who does not spend frequent time with his/her mother. There is a student in our school that does not feel they are loved by their immediate family. There is a student in our school who rarely reads with an adult or plays pretend games. 

In some cases, this makes our job slightly challenging-attempting to fulfill their basic needs daily. But-you know- our students are worth it!

I realize the unconditional love my wife and I have for Sophia is absent in a few children. I hope with a gentle hug, high-five, meaningful conversation, and playing at recess, we can give our students what we give our loved ones. Thank you for giving more of yourself everyday as we try to help our students grow.

-Rodney S. Lewis, Ed.D.