Good day everyone, I hope you are all having a productive day.

Some weeks ago I got to work and noticed a particular girl among the pupils , she just joined us this term and during our morning devotions and social gatherings I noticed she likes staying on her own or stay in an isolated space.
I asked my Admin about her records from her previous institution of learning and I was told throughout her life she have migrated from one environment to another, there by changing schools, seeing new people, getting introduced to New languages and you will all agree with me that constant migration has a dangerous effect on the developmental and learning process of kids. I learnt she was demoted, she had to repeat a class because the wasn't encouraged by her performance academically.

I was grateful she wasn't in my class as some point, because that's a lot of jobs, but as a teacher, it's part of my obligations to see that a child grows and excels , regardless of the fact that she wasn't a student in my class.

For sometime, I have been familiarizing myself with this kid her name is Sharon, trying to hold conversation and bring her out of her shell, in one of our staffs meeting we discussed about her and it has been a collective effort to make her feel among us, socialize, speak and put effort into all activities school, including social activities.

I noticed she has a very low self esteem, for a female child, that's extremely bad. It reminds me of when I was a teenager, I was so shy , had serious stage fright and I also battled with low self esteem, I will share about my teenage years with the community another day.

While trying my best to make her a better person, I decided to do a background check of her family, because I believe kids and even adults are products of their families and certain characters and attributes should be traced back to our families.

Her mom is a trader, not educated, and has a laissez-faire attitude towards her child, the kind of mom that will blame the teacher and the world if her child turns out bad, and her dad is very interested but the nature of his job made him totally unavailable for his kid .

At that point I realized that there was zero effort at home to change her, it was totally on her teachers, I'm not her classroom teacher, but when there's a social events I will always pick her out of her hidden place, keep her at the front and makes sure she keeps her head high,we took it upon ourselves to ask her questions, it's now compulsory for her to contribute in our devotions , actively participate and stand in the front of her teachers and students.

It been weeks since we started giving her much attention , especially in social gatherings and all I can say is children are the best to teach. It's easier to change a child, than an adult, all it requires is patience.

She now participate in dramas effortlessly, I can remember the first time I pointed her out to take a role, she couldn't raise her head up, but the last show we had last Friday she took the spotlight.
She played the rolecof a mother and it was excellent.

Now she lead devotions effortlessly, stand in front of other students and teachers to sing, pray and recite the national anthem. I have never been this proud of a student, at first I thought it wasn't going to be possible but she keeps surprising me .

She no longer stands in a hidden place, but stands at the front role, with her head high. It has really been wonderful watching her growth, how comfortable she's among her peers , her progress academically and socially.

It feels like an achievement to all the staffs, because it was a collective effort.

I just hope and pray her parents don't migrate again.

It's extremely satisfying to watch your kids grow positively as a teacher, it gives great joy.