Day 22 - Dawn Hochspung, 47, Teacher

Dawn Hochsprung, image by MSN

Allison's teacher, Dawn Hochsprung, was delighted when she saw Allison's hand go up during show-and-tell time. It was only the second time she recalled Allison raising her hand for anything. When Dawn called on her, Allison always had either the right answer, when the question called for a single answer, or a good thought in those cases where the child's creativity was being probed. Dawn had done all she could think of to encourage Allison to take part in activities, to build up her confidence. So when Allison raised her hand, Dawn called on her and watched as she made her way to the front of the room.

Dawn was pleased that Allison wasn't hanging her head as she walked. But once Allison reached the front of the room, Dawn noticed a little hesitation, as though Allison was reconsidering her volunteering. Just a hint of rose came over Allison's cheeks, a blush of embarrassment, Dawn thought. But as quickly as the blush appeared, it disappeared as Allison seemed to get back her courage and pointed to the knee-high socks she was wearing and told the class that they were new.  While others who volunteered for show-and-tell were reluctant to give up their platform at the front of the room when called on, Allison said her piece and then was done.

Dawn watched as the young girl walked back to her desk with more energy than she had shown on her way to the front of the classroom. Dawn hoped that energy was evidence that Allison found some confidence through her speaking, but she knew it could as easily be that Allison's confidence had escaped, leaving Allison with no option but to get back to the comfort of her desk as soon as possible.

As show-and-tell continued, Dawn continued watching Allison who began to shrink into herself. Instead of increased confidence, it appeared that her confidence was wilting. By the time show-and-tell ended, Allison was back to her usual self, head lowered so she could hide behind her hair as she concentrated on her text books and papers.

Benjamin Wheeler, Image from MSN

Dawn didn't believe she showed favoritism towards any of her students. She believed she was equally concerned about each of them, but the challenges each faced were not the same so that the time required to address each student's challenges couldn't be equal. For that reason, she knew there may be others who might accuse her of having a favorite or two. But Dawn spent time as her students required, not according to a rota.

For example, she spent more time on Benjamin Wheeler, too, her most troublesome student. Dawn was convinced Ben wasn't getting the attention he wanted, that he deserved, at home, probably because he was the middle son in this family of three boys. Ben's older brother was born when his parents had been married for ten years, Ben a year later, and the youngest was still an infant. Not surprisingly, after waiting so long to begin their family, his parents doted on the older son and found the infant a handful as they hadn't planned on having a larger family, especially at their age. After five years of being their baby, Ben found he had lost much of his parents' attention which Dawn assumed led him to act out in class where he was assured of getting attention from not only his teacher, but also the rest of his classmates. Dawn was struggling to find a way to turn his attention-seeking behavior into something positive, but she hadn't found the key yet. Both his young age and his infectious smile made it difficult to discipline him. She hadn't yet decided if at six-years-old Ben had learned to manipulate those around him or if he was just a desperately lonely child who was trying all methods he could think of to get attention.

By the end of the day, Dawn had stopped wondering why Allison's confidence had slipped away after show-and-tell. She dismissed her students when the end-of-the-day bell rang and she watched as they seemed to fly out of their desks and through the classroom door.