Letter from the editor: Sweet, sweet summer

From character analysis to writing prompts, these ducks were a huge hit with his students. I ordered a set of fifty ducks for my own classroom and started using them with my students for each book we read. The ducks absolutely took off, and soon the students were all asking when we would be working with the toy ducks again.

This inspired me to create an award for the end of the year involving a rubber duck dressed in a Shakespeare costume. The award is called the “Keep on Quacking Award.” Students get recognized for having high honors, being a great citizen, performing well on the field, and being actively involved in clubs, but I wanted to find a way to recognize a student for their sheer grit. Oftentimes, the students that perform their best at all times aren’t the ones that become the valedictorian, and something I try to remind all of my students is that their best may not be their classmate’s best. All we can do is give our absolute best, and then rest knowing that we did so.

Fast forward to the middle of the year: it was time for my freshman to read Macbeth. Students were assigned a monologue to memorize and perform after two weeks of study. Reading Shakespeare can be difficult for anyone, but memorizing Shakespeare? An entire monologue? Mrs. Warren, you must be crazy! Some of them studied the monologue; however, most of them worked on it two days before, which led to sheer panic in class that day. Each student stood in front of the class to perform their monologue, only to stop after reciting about six lines. Blaming everyone but themselves, which is typical of our human nature, they made as many excuses as possible to get a redo the next day or a makeup assignment (which I gave them. I’m not a complete monster).

However, there was one student that made such an impact I genuinely know I will never forget her. She’s quiet. She’s kind. She’s gentle. She definitely does not like public speaking, and I knew this would be a challenge for her; so I was prepared to give prompts when necessary. As she recited the monologue, I read along with the play to ensure she wasn’t missing lines. For a moment, there was silence after line seventeen, which caused me to ask if she needed a prompt. When I looked up at this student, she had tears running down her face. 

“No. I can do this. I don’t need any prompts. Just give me a second.” My jaw dropped. Not a single student said a word as her silent tears continued to shine on her cheeks and she completed the monologue. She didn’t miss a single word. It was at that moment that the Keep on Quacking Award was born. I knew that this was something that needed to be recognized, and this was a student that needed to be awarded.

In her seventh grade year, this same student was working with classmates to complete an assignment that prompted them to consider the gift God gave them. She quietly approached my desk and said, “Mrs. Warren, I’m not quite sure I have a gift. There isn’t anything I’m just outstanding at.” This was the first of many times this student has left me speechless over the last three years. I grinned at her and told her I knew exactly what her gift was—a heart like Jesus. When I think of kindness, warmth, friendship, grace, and perseverance, I think of this child. When I think of what I want my own daughter to be like in junior high, I think of this particular student.

So often we recognize students for amazing academics or incredible athletic abilities. All of those are reasons to celebrate our students. However, I think it’s just as equally important to remember that those ribbons aren’t what matter the most. Please don’t “cancel” me for saying this, but our hearts, our integrity, our grit are what is going to matter in the end. People will sometimes remember what we do, what we achieved, but they’ll never forget how we made them feel.

So, all of this to say, whether you’re a letterman or an honor student or even simply in-between, all that matters is that you keep on quacking.

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