The Home Visit Pt 2
In a previous blog post, I described the efforts that a colleague and I went to in order to locate an Agora student who had fallen off the radar. When I left off, James had finally been found in an apartment in South Philly…
James, who resembles a large teddy bear, stepped out beside us, grinning from ear to ear and exclaiming “Ms. Hammel!” I knew his name had been very familiar to me, but I didn’t realize that he and I had actually met at PSSA testing last year. James was in 8th grade at that time, and loomed over me even then. I recognized him immediately as the boy who had declared “I’d sooner lick the inside of a Philly subway than return to a brick and mortar school!” and one of the brightest students I had met.
Then he looked at each of us and asked, “Now which one of you is going to be my homeroom teacher?”
“That’s me!” I answered.
“NO WAY!!!” James exclaimed.
We had a great conversation, and we invited him to a local meet-and-greet the following Saturday. James said that he would definitely be there. This was a great end to what I thought was going to be a scary situation. Knowing that James’s father is incarcerated, and having made some assumptions about the area in which he resided, I let a little fear creep in, but James is far from scary, and I’m looking forward to a great year with him. I was again reminded to never give up and to not make assumptions. I couldn’t have done it without the company and support of Heather – she is awesome!
Stay tuned for more updates on James and more stories about what it’s like to be a K¹² virtual educator!
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