By Nate Reaven

I was so upset with one of my students today. He wasn’t in my class, but I saw him immediately after walking through the halls. He ditched. He’s a ditcher. This was particularly upsetting because he is one of my brightest students. He believes he has a career in baseball, and he very well might. He believes that if baseball does not work out that he can become a fire fighter.

While these are fine career options, I am an educator. I naturally and inherently believe that education needs to be involved somehow, particularly when the other two job options are primarily based upon physical stamina. What happens to my student when he is physically no longer able to be a firefighter or baseball player?

His words? “I’m screwed.”

This is one of my smarter, more talented students. He has potential boiling out of his fingertips.

I told him this, and said I was incredibly disappointed in his actions.

He then told me something that rocked me.

“No one has ever told me that before.”

No one has ever told you that you are talented, and capable? No one has ever told you that you have the ability to succeed at whatever you want as long as you put in the time and the work? No one has told you that you can do it?

Blegh.

Nope. Not once. Not even a hint. Not even a suggestion of promise.

The good? I hopefully got through to him. The bad? He’s a junior in high school who doesn’t believe in himself academically, despite his many natural gifts.

The point? Maybe now, he knows.