I am the pastor of Room 203. It’s my job to bring these kids the love of Jesus. These are my stories. (You should all make the two-toned sound from Law and Order in your head now: domp-domp)

Lex Rox!

This is me. And this is a mountain and sea of love over me. And I’m thinking that this is what I bring to Room 203. ‘Cuz, you know, incarnation… Jesus… love..I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart…all that stuff.

Lex painted this for me and it pretty much broke my heart. Lex is my favorite kid in Room 203. I call him Lexi-Loo, which he hates, so I’m trying really hard to stop. Lex has a headful of black curls that are perpetually too long, too tousled, and too tangled. Lex has the soul of an artist and green eyes that could see through your skull. (Don’t bother trying to BS this kid)

Lex is also in trouble a lot.

I’ve made it my duty to touch base with Lex every single day. Sometimes, I commiserate with him when he’s in the Uncooperative Chair (which is often). I was playing with my hot wheel (sniffling) and it was my dad’s hot wheel (a bit hysterical now, because dad doesn’t live at home) and it went in the 176 box!(wailing) (The 176 box is the place where things go and you can’t have them back until the last day of school–day 176.) Sometimes I intercede for him with another kid. Natalie, you say Lex stepped on your toes and he says he didn’t step on your toes. Since its morning and we’re starting fresh let’s just dust our hands off and start fresh okay? No one needs to talk to Mr. C. It’s all good right? Sometimes I try to cut him off at the pass before he gets busted. Lex, karate chopping hands are not for the classroom, right kiddo? But mostly I just tousle his hair and smile at him.

Then one day, he made me this picture and my heart melted.

Later that day I called his Mom and Lex’s voice was on the answering machine. So instead of leaving a message for Mom, I just told Lex how I’d had a great day with him and that I thought he was a great kid. His mom, who I’ve never met, called me back to thank me. I was afraid she would think I was a total weirdo kid-stalker, but instead she said that Lex really needs that right now and that he looked really proud when he heard the message. Then she and I had a great talk. I like her. She’s got spunk. Must be where Lex gets those eyes. That kid slays me. I love him so much!

The Quiet Corner

There is a child curled in the Quite Corner behind the folding screen. She is sobbing, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. I know this child is perky and bright, bilingual but doing better than the other bilingual kids and eager to help them along, a natural leader. I also know her home is very fractured. A step mom and infant brother in another country with grandma. A step dad and birth mom expecting and other baby here soon. Free breakfast, free lunch. Thing are complicated. Today she is crying because last night she broke something of her older sisters: a ceramic ring that sits on top of a light bulb and spreads scent through the room. My mom yelled at me. And she sayed a bad word at me. And she kept saying the bad word at me. And my Dad was watching TV and he just keeped watching the TV. And when we went to bed I sayed to my sister ‘I’m sorry,’ and she wouldn’t say nothing. The heartbreak, betrayal and abandonment in that short paragraph were so big. It floored me, frankly. So I prayed silently. I prayed the same thing I pray often for my own children, “Lord, heal the hurts of this day.” And we talked about how hard it is when a family member isn’t ready to forgive you. I and finally I said, I know someone who helps people forgive one another, and I’m going to ask him to help your sister forgive you and for you to be friends again, okay? I’m going to ask my friend to carry some of the hurt and sadness you are feeling so it won’t feel so heavy to you. I’m going to do that all day, and then you can tell me about it later. The little girl just nodded and held my hand and I patted her back until she calmed down.
About a month later I was in the classroom, roaming around talking to this kid and that kid, when the little girl came up to me and said, Remember when my sister was mad at me? Well we’re friends now! I’m sure they had reconciled long ago, but she suddenly remembered and wanted me to know. It reminded me again about how ministry works. We think we are serving “the world” and “the world” is really blessing us.

Mr. C’s Cheerleader

Room 203 has a male teacher. This is pretty rare, a male kindergarten teacher. Rarer still that this successful MBA would decide to go back to school to learn how to teach five year olds

. I feel so privileged to have this unique man shaping my daughter’s experience of life. Like most public school teachers he works hard and there is always more to do than there is time to do it in. Often he is seen by the parents not as a person, but as a commodity; someone to either produce something for them, or to demand something of. Around Christmas time the teacher next door sent over a box of candy canes for the kids. On the back of the box there was little blurb about “The Story of the Candy Cane,” which in part referenced the shepherd’s and the shepherds hook and had a picture of a nativity scene on it. Mr. C quickly xeroxed it and tucked it in the kids’ folder, thinking that it might be of interest. What an uproar! The next day four parents were hovering outside his door demanding that he teach a unit on all of the winter holidays. I watched one parent literally getting in Mr. C’s face in front of the kids. All this over a piece of paper that as kindergarteners the children couldn’t even read! That day I wrote Mr. C a little note. I’m a minister and I appreciate it that Eden is learning about all kinds of cultural and religious traditions at school. I love it that her bus mate is Muslim and that she learned about Ramadan and head coverings and other family’s traditions. I love it that you will probably teach about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. I know you are doing your best to enrich the curriculum and give the children little extras. Thank you for helping my daughter be a part of this global community. When I came in the next day Mr. C gave me a tremendous hug and thanked me profusely. I didn’t think he was going to let go of my hand. I felt so glad to be able to offer him something; after all he had given to my girl.
Later this year Mr. C came under attack again. The same bunch of parents was concerned about something and took it to the principle, en masse, rather than talking to him about it directly. They did so in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week. The thing that made me the most upset about the whole thing was that Mr. C ceased to be a person. He was completely dehumanized in their eyes. He was now only a problem. (This, ironically, is exactly what they were concerned about – that the “difficult kids” were being seen as “problems” and not “students.” A legitimate concern in any school setting.) I interceded with the principle, gave her my point of view. But I didn’t know what else to do. Since it was teacher appreciation week I went and bought Mr. C. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. I wrote him a card and told him as a further gift I would never ask him what he thought of this book, so if he didn’t like it he didn’t have to read it. I even gave him the gift receipt. Two days later Mr. C stopped me in the hall. He had been at a meeting for the new dialogical reading program he and been trying out in the classroom. The curriculum designer had asked the teachers what advice they would give to someone who was considering setting up a similar program. Mr C. replied, I’d tell them to take it bird by bird.
Mr. C told me that story just so I would know that he had read my gift book (or at least the inside back cover.) I felt so charmed, so blessed, so touched by gratitude and camaraderie and love. Once again, I who thought I was doing the ministry was ministered to.

The Tough Guy with Long Lashes

One of my favorite kids in the classroom is the darling African American boy with long lashes and a crazy imagination. When I come in to do one-on-one reading with the kids, he spins me these amazing comic book tales about Spiderman and Martin Luther King and how they fly around the city capturing bad guys and bringing people back to life. Doesn’t that totally rock?! I mean this kid’s mind is all over the place! His mom says he stays up late at night just telling stories to himself, so he’s often wiped out at school. Sometimes he just falls asleep on the desk. Mr. C just lets him stay that way. It is, kindergarten after all. (Full day with no nap! When I was in the big K it was half day, with a nap!)
Last week I walked into the classroom and one of the little girls ran up to me because Dac had bumped her. I walked over to their shared desk and had to stifle a smile. There was a line of masking tape down the middle of it! Dac was leaning back in his chair, the perfect imitation of his older brother. He was wearing a knock-off of a Sean John sweat suit and his braids had color coordinated beads on the end. (With the braids and long lashes, I cannot convince my three year old that Dac is a boy. This tough guy is always the first one to take Catie by the hand and lead her to her favorite toy in the classroom — the kitchen area. He’s so sweet and gentle with her.) Today he is obviously trying to cop a ‘tude. Whatsup Dac? Nothing. Dac just pulls out a wad of monopoly money the size of my fist and starts thumbing through it. You got some serious bank today my man. What ups with that? No answer. Well Dac. Make sure you put it in your pocket, ‘cuz I don’t want it to go in the 176 box, okay? Still nothing. Meanwhile, the aforementioned I’ve-been-bumped child is hovering over my shoulder waiting for restitution. Oh, and Dac. Let’s make sure you control your body today, okay? I know you are working sooooo hard on it and you’re doing such a good job. Keep it up. I put my fist out to get ‘dapped.’ No response.What? You just going to leave me hanging like that? A reluctant dap. Then, all of a sudden Dac has thrown his arms around me and is hugging me, leaning into my shoulder and just kind of sinking in. Okaaay. Now I see I’m getting some sugar.I pat his back. You’re going to have a great day Dac. I can feel it. Damn. How good does this pastoring gig get?

Okay, I’ve got more. Tons of ‘em. But I’m out of time. The bell has rung. Suffice it to say that last week, Lex sat in my lap while we watched a video, grabbed both my arms, and made me wrap them around his shoulders. Later, Samantha held my hand as I helped her navigate the crowds of kids at an overwhelming school event. It was a sort of free-for-all give away event and most of the good stuff was gone .She ended up with an origami hat and a game made with rocks, but she was totally delighted and beamed up at me. I keep trying to give love away at Room 203 – and they keep giving it back.