Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Critical Narrative

“Getting to the heart of the matter”

Ramon

The first day of school is always frightening—not only for the students but for the teacher too. I’ll never forget that sunny August afternoon as I was greeting and introducing myself to my students when all of a sudden in raced this tall, rough-looking boy into my classroom like a horse without a harness. He was in his worse stage of puberty, had a voice like thunder and a mouth that out ran a motor vehicle. In the years that followed, I would witness this mouth to never stay shut. No, I’ll never forget Ramon. He was in my class from hell which consisted of 45 students, most of them his buddies, and English class was in the afternoon right after gym. Imagine the energy!

Because of the way Ramon behavior and academic status, he was not a favorite among most teachers. He was loud, considered to be dumb, should have been placed in special education, and many teachers considered him to come from a dysfunctional family. He had a tuff-guy image with the street-wise knowledge that would not let anything get passed him. Therefore, his impenetrable knight’s amour was worn to school everyday. It wasn’t easy for Ramon to sit with a teacher and talk things out because he was as tight as a clam when it came to discussing any behavior, academic or personal problem. God save you if you tried to stop him from engaging in any of his mischievous rampages when playing pranks on other students.
How I could teach anything to this student, I wondered. Instead of trying to teach him English, I decided I would make friends with him first. I learned everything I could about him, his sister and parents. Although he had a dysfunctional family by the school standards, once having met his family I found them to be a loving and caring family.

Once I really got to know, understand and gain his confidence, we became good friends. Ramon changed attitudes and would enter my room ready to start working on whatever I had on the board. I taught Ramon 7th through 9th grade. I have to say that they were three good years for Ramon and me. After 9th grade his sister, who was my son’s friend, kept me tuned in to Ramon’s new endeavors. Years later I found out that Ramon had gone on to the University of Puerto Rico and had received his BA. Today, Ramon is a bank manager for Banco Popular of Puerto Rico.

Did I make a difference in this student’s life? I really don’t know, but I do know that many things changed for Ramon. No, I’ll never forget Ramon.

1 comment:

Kinderbeanie :) said...

Lourdes,

Thank you for sharing your Ramon with us. It is not an uncommon instance for a few learners to stick out in our memories for either great or not so great reasons, but those who mesh both great and not so great are the ones that we probably have had to learn from the most!

Ramon sounds like he was very peer-driven, which usually makes them have to "show-out" more than they would without an audience.

What was it about Ramon that made other educators reject him? Was he disrespectful? Did he make class unmanagable? Why did he learn with you?

Obviously, you did not give yourself credit when you look back at your encounters with him; I feel you made a significant impact on his life, but I would love to know more about his struggles, his choices, his turning point.

Thank you for making learning so great this summer!

Joyce