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第12章 淘气的天使w hy i tecah2（第1页）

nowmystudents。Massesofawkwardseventhgradersswarmthehallsofmyruralmiddleschooleachday，haulingbackacksoveroneshoulder，talkingandshufflingalongthetilehallwayfloorfromclasstoclass。Iwatchthemlikeageneralfrommyost，myclassroomdoor，andsmileatthefactthatIcancalleachonebyname。Iknowtheirsecrets，theirstories。Doraslouchesandisshy，andIknowitisbecauseshesendsallhertimeathometryingnottogetnoticed，soshewon’tfeelthebruntofherstefather’sangryhand。Jaycanitchlikeatenthgrader，andallthegirlsswoonwhenheandhisblondhairstrutby，butIknowhedoesn’treallyevenlikebaseballthatmuchhelaysbecausehisdadwantshimtoandheistooscaredtoaskoutthegirlhelikes。ThekidsthinkKeithisjusttheclassclown，butIknowofhisdreamstobecomeanastronautandI’verecommendedhimforsacecam。IknowmystudentsbecauseIamtheirwritingteacher。TheytrustmewiththeirstoriesandsoIamgiventherivilegeofhavingasecretbondwitheachandeveryoneofthem。Iteachmystudentsabouttheowerofwords，andItrytoletthemfindreleaseandexressionthroughwriting。Welearntotrusteachotherinwritingclassbecausewelearnhowharditistowriteoenlyandhonestly，andwelearnthatsharingyourwordstakescourage。Iseecourageeverydayinmyclassroom，andIamalwaysamazedatthewordsthatcomefrommystudents’hearts。Onesuchexamleofcouragetooklaceduringauthor’schair，asharingsessionattheendofourwriter’sworkshoinwhichstudentsvolunteertosharewhattheyhavewritten。

Wehadanewstudenttotheschool，Al。Alwassmalland，withhisdimledcheeksandbabyface，helookedyoungerthanhisclassmates。Infact，whenAlwasfirstintroducedtotheclasstwoweeksearlier，onestudentsaid，“You’renotintheseventhgrade。You’reababy。”Tothat，Alquicklyresonded，“I’mAlBillslington，andIamintheseventhgrade。”Desitehisobviouscourage，Alhadbeenwithusforonlyashortwhileandwasstilltryingtofitin。SoIwasalittlesurrisedwhenhevolunteeredtoreadduringauthor’schair。Ihadoneofthoseteachermoments，whenIsmiledandnoddedforhimtoread，whileinsideIsaidasilentrayerthattheotherstudentswouldnotteasethenewkidafterheread。Theroomfellsilent，andAlbegantoread。“IfIhadonewish，itwouldbetomeetmydad。。。”Hestartedoutloudandclearandheldtheattentionofmyusuallyrestlessseventhgradersashereadonforwhatseemedlikefifteenminutes。Hetoldofhowhehadneverknownhisfather，whohadleftthefamilywhenAlwasababy。

Hesharedtheintimatedetailsofhisstrugglestobetheonlymaninthehouseatsuchayoungage，ofhavingtomowthelawnandfixbrokenies。Herevealedtousthethoughtsthatracedthroughhismindconstantlyaboutwherehisfathermightbeandwhyhemighthaveleft。Myeyesscannedtheroomforsnickeringfacesofseventh-gradekidswhoIknewwereronetojumataweaknessandtrytocrackajoke，buttherewerenosnickers。Therewerenorollingeyesorgesturesinsinuatingboredomorendingattacks。Allofmyseventh-gradestudentswerelistening，reallylistening。TheireyeswereonAl，andtheywereabsorbinghiswordslikesonges。Myheartwasfull。Alcontinuedon，tellingofnightmaresatnight，ofneverknowingamansoimortanttohim，yetsounreal。Icouldhearhisvoicegrowingshakyashereadsuchassionateandhonestwords，andIsawatearrolldownoneofhisdimledcheeks。Ilookedtotheaudience。ThereweretearsonJessica’sfaceandonthefacesofafewothersseatedquietly，intentlylistening。Theyarelettinghimdothis，Ithought。Theyareallowinghimtosharesomethingheerhashasneversharedbefore，andtheyaren’tjudginghimorteasinghim。Ifeltaluminmyownthroat。Alfinished，strugglingnowtoreadhislastsentence。“IfIhadonewish，itwouldbetomeetmydad，soIwouldn’t。。。”Histearswererollingnow，andsowereours，“。。。soIwouldn’thavetoclosemyeyesinbedeverynightjustwonderingwhathelookslike。”Withoutanycuefromme，theclassstooduandalauded。Alsmiledfromeartoearastheyallrushedhimwithhugs。Iwasfloored。ThisiswhyIteach。IteachbecauseIamallowedtolearnthestoriesbehindthefaces。IteachbecauseIcanwatchkidsgrowandlaughandlearnandlove。IteachbecauseofstudentslikeAl。