One of the most important lessons I have learned from my students is the power of our words. Our words are like fire. Their impact extends far beyond the classroom. Our words can be a fire of hope that lights the path for the next step in our student’s journey, but they can also be a destructive flame that burns and snuffs out their dreams. 

        Many years ago, I had a student in my class who made a big impact on my teaching. She was a quiet, yet a hard-working student who was hungry to learn and always strived to do her best. She was a student in both my calculus I and II classes. A few weeks into the second semester, she came to me after class and asked if she could take the final exam early. When I spoke to her about her situation, she shared with me a story that changed me forever. It turns out, this student had been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor when she was a child. She had been in remission, but now her cancer had returned and the doctors expected her to live only 6-8 more weeks.   It was very important to her to finish this class before she died.   

        She explained how one of her High School teachers once commented that she should “not stress herself out trying to learn math when she doesn’t need it. Just take it easy and enjoy the life you have left.” I assume the teacher meant this as a form of encouragement to relieve some stress, but this student did not see it that way. What she heard was that “Because I am going to die soon and may never become someone famous or change the world, I am not worth your time to teach me.” Those words burned like a fire inside of her. She said she wished more than anything that “all teachers would understand that all students are worth teaching no matter what their background, or what their future may be. All students matter and are worth your time. I matter even if I don’t have long to live.”

              She shared some of her journeys through treatment and why it was so important to her to finish this course. It was not only important to prove to herself she could do it, but to be an example to others, especially a friend she made while in treatment. My student and her friend made a promise that if she finished this class her friend would finish nursing school. No matter how difficult, nothing, not even cancer could prevent them from reaching their goals and dreams.    As I made the necessary arrangements for her to take the final early, it became very clear she did not have much time left. Even knowing this, she was determined to finish the class. Her resilience and tenacity were unsurmountable – like none I have ever seen.  As I would stop at the hospital to go over lessons and answer questions, she refused to give up despite how weak she became.  She insisted that she must do every assignment and did not want anything excluded or any special treatment. In the end, she became so weak she could not write and could barely talk, but pleaded with me to find a way for her to finish the class before she died.  In order to finish the course, I made a symbol board and she took the final orally, pointing to the symbols as a scribe wrote down her work. In the end, she achieved her dream and aced the class! After the final, she asked me to scribe a letter to her friend and send them a copy of her grade report when it was ready.  When I left the room, I was so touched I cried.

         I have never forgotten this student or the lessons she taught me. Years from now, most of my students will likely not remember much of the content I taught and may not even remember me. My hope is that my words will be a light that inspires them and that their lives are made better by taking my class. I want every student to know that they matter and are worth my time.