The Student Who Challenges You to Grow...Sometimes the greatest teacher in the room is not the one standing at the front

Every year, without fail, there is a student — or a group of students — who changes something in me.

What growth actually looks like

It does not always feel like growth in the moment. Sometimes it feels like frustration. Sometimes it feels like being caught off guard by a perspective you had not considered. Sometimes it feels like being pushed just past the edge of your comfort zone by a fourteen-year-old who has no idea they are doing it.

But looking back at the end of the year, you can see it clearly. You think differently than you did in September. Your world is a little wider. Your teaching is a little sharper, and it happened because of them.

This year

This year stretched me in more ways than one.

Students challenged my thinking, pushed back on ideas thoughtfully, brought perspectives into the room that made me reconsider my own, and reminded me why I teach the texts I teach. That kind of intellectual push from a student is not something you can plan for. You can only create the conditions for it and then get out of the way.

However, the growth this year was not only intellectual. It was also deeply practical.

This year I worked harder than I ever have to ensure that ALL of my students were included and genuinely stretched. Inclusion without rigor is not inclusion. It is just presence. And every student in that room deserved more than presence. They deserved to be challenged, supported, and believed in at the same level as everyone else.

Did we get it right every time? No. There were lessons that had to be redesigned on the fly. There were moments where my grade level/department colleagues, co-teacher and I had to stop, regroup, and find a better approach together. The greatest lesson planned is not always seamless.

But, we tried. Consistently, intentionally, and with genuine care for every student in that room. And that trying - the willingness to adjust, reflect, and try again - is growth.

What this means for you

Pay attention to the students who challenge you. Not just the ones who challenge your patience, but the ones who challenge your thinking, your assumptions, and your practice.

They are not obstacles. They are invitations.

And if you taught a co-taught or inclusion class this year, give yourself credit for the invisible work that goes into making that model function well. It is some of the hardest, most rewarding teaching there is. The fact that you kept adjusting, kept trying, and kept showing up for those students matters more than you know.

The student who challenges you to grow is a gift.

Receive them as one.

💜💚 Teaching: The Real — Real texts. Real topics. Real thinking.