  It wasn't a miracle, just one moment Continuing the story of training for my new career, this is an experience from my first practicum, last year. There was one boy in the class I just couldn't connect with. Unlike the others, who welcomed me, and cooperated with my requests, this one resisted. He was a real tough guy, one of the three who were always vying for the top dog position. As such, there was no way he was going to cooperate with any student teacher.
Near the end of my second (and last) week in the school, I was taking a language lesson with a group that included this child. After reading a story in a School Journal, I asked the children to retell the story as though it was a newspaper article. Having set the task, I wandered around, helping the kids, and keeping an eye on their progress. I noticed that he wasn't writing. I checked that he knew the task, and moved on again. When I came back, I found that he had still not written anything. I crouched down beside him, and together we worked through the task. He found that despite what he had first thought, he did know what to write. He eventually produced a great story, and both I, and the classroom teacher, were impressed. I'd like to say that this was a huge breakthrough, and that he and I got on wonderfully for the rest of the week.
I'd like to say that he became a model student. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and he was in trouble with his teacher five minutes later for misbehaviour. But it was one moment, where I made a connection, where I felt that yes, I could do this job, and even more important, that this was where I wanted to be. Up to that point I had still been having doubts about teaching, and this experience proved to me that I was in the right place. Someone told me that this is the payoff in teaching, those moments, and you grab them and treasure them when they come your way. I will certainly treasure that moment. 
