Troy was every teacher’s nightmare. Being tall, handsome and athletic, he felt it was his duty to charm the girls but not do his school work. He was very popular and he was failing all his classes. The frustrating part was that he was fairly bright. He could easily have been a C student.

As I found out more about Troy, I realized that he came from a very troubled home. He had pulled a knife on his single mother a year before and had just been released from a facility for troubled teens. He did not exhibit this troubling behavior at school but he did do outrageous things for attention. I tried to call his mother, but she had blocked any call from the school on her phone.

One day as we walked to related arts class, I noticed that when he walked near sixth graders, they would literally bow at his feet and want to reach out to touch him. His charisma went beyond charming eighth grade girls. One day when I was talking to him, I pointed out that he could be a role model for younger children if he would just straighten out his life some. Children obviously looked up to him. Other teachers began to tell him similar things, but it didn’t do any good. Troy was socially promoted on to the high school. I later heard he had pulled a knife on a neighbor and had been sent away again. Such wasted potential.

Update: I saw Troy working in a fast food restaurant four years later. He told me that the “school” he had been attending in Texas had an accelerated program that allowed him to finish high school in three years. He had received his diploma. So I asked him what plans he had for the future. His answered shocked me. He was going to college. “Great! What career are you planning to pursue?” I asked. He told me was going to be a teacher. And then he made my day. He said, “I began to think about the things you used to tell me. You know, that I was special and could be a good role model for kids, if I wanted to. Well many other teachers told me that and I began to think it might be true. Thanks for not giving up on me.”

What Troy didn’t know was that I had given up on him. But this taught me a valuable lesson. It may take years for the student to understand your words. All you can do is plant the seed and when the time is right, it may sprout. Never give up on any child!

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