Granola Bar Boy

When I started my job as the AES Supervisor at Susan B. Anthony Middle School, I knew I was going to be in for a wild ride. AES stands for Alternative Education Setting. Basically it's just a nice way of saying it's a special secluded environment for students to come if they need a quiet space to work, room to calm down, or they're serving a detention or in school suspension time. I knew that I was going to see & hear things that would hurt my heart deeply, that students would challenge me, that I was going to grow a lot. I was up for the challenge.

Early on in the school year, a student was caught stealing breakfast from the cafeteria. He repeatedly denied this action & was sent to my room for the day. He was incredibly irritated & when asked if he wanted to talk about it, he simply shook his head no. We spent the first hour or so in silence until I finally asked him if he was hungry. Just a simple question. I had an extra granola bar in my bag & offered it over to him. He looked at me & reluctantly took the granola bar. This peace offering was the start to a beautiful relationship.

After a good fifteen minutes of conversation, this student & I now had a mutual understanding of one another & the situation at hand. The student admitted to stealing breakfast & told me that he hadn't eaten dinner the night before or breakfast that morning. Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be too pleasant if I had missed two meals in a row either, & I'm not an adolescent boy! He knows that stealing breakfast is wrong, but he felt that there wasn't another choice. We promised each other something: I would make sure to ALWAYS have a stock of granola bars in my room for him if he promised to NEVER steal food again. To this day, we have each kept our end of the deal.

I now have to buy the 60 pack because these granola bars have become my peace offering with many hungry students who enter this room.

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This story is humbling for me. He was absolutely delighted when he came into my room the next day for a granola bar & I presented him with three different options from a variety pack. I'll remember the look on his face for the rest of my life.

Who knew something as small as having a variety pack of granola bars would be the highlight of a kid's day. A kid who missed dinner the night before + breakfast that morning. A kid who is funny & respectful when he feels respected. A kid who is challenging to love, but desperately needs it. All kids deserve full tummies & full hearts. Let me say it louder for the people in the back. All kids deserve full tummies & full hearts.

I'm thankful for my mom who supports my passion & has donated (a few boxes of) granola bars for my always hungry middle schoolers!

I'm thankful for students, like granola bar boy, who humble me & continue to teach me how to serve & love people better.

"The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others." - Gordon B. Hinckley

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