Biting The Bears

Some days the bears bite you, other days you bite the bears. This was wisdom that I was handed by my older brother while I was still in high school. It always sounded good, but it didn't immediately make sense in my world. Now, in the past week or so, I have a solid connection with this whole bear-biting-business.
The world of fourth grade had become just a little stressful in the first month and a half of school. I was coming home with my shoulder blades lodged in my ears and a ringing in my ears from the combined noise of my students and my teeth grinding together. It was not going well. Then there was the mob-bullying scene with Steven. The thought of spending another seven months with this crew seemed like a very bad idea.
Yesterday morning, however, things started to turn. One of my colleagues needed my help to "turn his monitor right side up". I stopped by his room on my prep period, and made a quick look at his control panel, and adjusted his display rotation form 180 degrees to None. Problem solved. A simple enough interchange, but I counted it as a victory.
Today I noticed that Steven was, for the first time this year, actively taking notes during our math lesson. When it came time to pick students to present problems at the board, I winced just a little when I pulled Steven's popsicle stick to come on up. And that's when the magic happened. His numbers were hard to see from the back of the class, and he didn't turn around to talk through his steps, preferring to address the white board, but he got through it and had the correct product. I made sure that the class gave him a special round of applause as he went back to his seat.
At our after-school reading program, Steven was very enthusiastic about the story that he was reading with his partner about rescue dogs. "Their sense of smell is one to ten thousand times more powerful than a human being's." I must have looked a little dumbfounded, because he took the time to explain what that meant. "They can pick up a scent underground, like in a tunnel." I got it.
I would love to take credit for the renaissance in Steven's education, but I know that it has a lot to do with luck. He felt comfortable enough to take a chance, and that is something I can be proud of . Today I bit the bears.