MemberI thought I'd share this story with you as it touched my heart earlier this week. For around 5 years now I've been teaching this boy who is in foster care. He has always been really quiet and doesn't really show his feelings, but he is a great kid. One time after I'd been teaching him for many weeks, he finally plucked up the courage to say something to me, and he said,"when you are leaving do you ever look up? I said, "no, why?" He replied, "because every week I stand in the front window upstairs and wave at you, but you never wave back". I felt so sorry for him at the time, so sure enough, at the end of that lesson I looked up for the first time and there he was waving enthusiastically. I couldn't help but feel sad that for weeks he must have thought I was ignoring him.
Anyway, I've never known about his history and recently I was told by his foster mother that he stole her sisters ipad. This was a huge shock to everyone as he is literally the last person you would expect, but unfortunately because the police had already been notified before he confessed, he is now under review. This obviously caused the dam to break because his foster mother told me on the phone that he suddenly opened up to her telling her about what happened to him in his past. He also disclosed that he cries himself to sleep every night; she said he was basically like a tap letting out all this stuff he had been holding in. I've known him for so long that it felt like a knife to my heart to know this little kid was suffering so badly. Anyway, I told his foster mother to waive the lesson fee for this morning and to give it to him. I know money doesn't solve problems like these, but to a kid, it's a way of showing that he is loved. She told me to give it to him myself.
So today, at the end of our lesson, I gave him my fee plus £10 and his face lit up like a Christmas tree, and then he hugged me. I told him to spend the money on whatever he wanted and that I gave it to him because of how great he is. I told him that he can achieve anything in life and that I've got his back no matter what. Breaks my heart to think what he has been through in his past. I still have no idea but it's horrible to even contemplate it.
Anyway, I've never known about his history and recently I was told by his foster mother that he stole her sisters ipad. This was a huge shock to everyone as he is literally the last person you would expect, but unfortunately because the police had already been notified before he confessed, he is now under review. This obviously caused the dam to break because his foster mother told me on the phone that he suddenly opened up to her telling her about what happened to him in his past. He also disclosed that he cries himself to sleep every night; she said he was basically like a tap letting out all this stuff he had been holding in. I've known him for so long that it felt like a knife to my heart to know this little kid was suffering so badly. Anyway, I told his foster mother to waive the lesson fee for this morning and to give it to him. I know money doesn't solve problems like these, but to a kid, it's a way of showing that he is loved. She told me to give it to him myself.
So today, at the end of our lesson, I gave him my fee plus £10 and his face lit up like a Christmas tree, and then he hugged me. I told him to spend the money on whatever he wanted and that I gave it to him because of how great he is. I told him that he can achieve anything in life and that I've got his back no matter what. Breaks my heart to think what he has been through in his past. I still have no idea but it's horrible to even contemplate it.
