At this year's women's retreat, we spent time dwelling in the story of the risen Jesus walking unrecognized with two companions on the road to Emmaus. Sarah Sannes shared this moving story from her experience teaching in an urban elementary school.     

Sometimes we don't recognize those around us for who they really are.  

We know that Cleopas and his traveling companion didn't recognize Jesus as they walked along the road to Emmaus, but we aren't sure just why. Maybe he looked physically different. Maybe they were too absorbed in  their own conversation to pay close attention to the man who joined them. However, later on when Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them, then they recognized him. It was then that they saw him for who he really was.

I am a teacher in an urban elementary school where I teach a unique class called Career Explorations. I've got more than 600 students --  kindergarten through sixth grade. I introduce kids to different careers and help them to think about their strengths, interests, and what makes each of them unique. My goal is to broaden their knowledge of all the possibilities that they have ahead of them, so I take them on college visits and unique field trips to help them understand the world of work.  

My second and third graders often felt left out because they couldn't go on the fun trips that I planned for the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, so I wanted something special for the littler ones. Last year I wrote and was awarded a grant from Ecolab that helped make that happen. I wanted my students to understand the concept that just about everything we create starts with an idea, is developed with a prototype and finally becomes the intended product. I teach this to the students by introducing them to architecture, design, scale, blueprints and construction...with a culminating project being...building a birdhouse.   

Most of my students have never built anything out of wood. Many have never used a screwdriver or a hammer. As a teacher, I found it fascinating to watch them with this new endeavor. Some who were at the top of their class academically struggled with eye/hand coordination. Some had a hard time envisioning how the pieces would go together. Others, though, excelled at this new hands-on challenge.

One of those students was a third grader, whom I'll call Ping.  Ping struggles in school -- mainly socially, but academically as well. She has had several "accidents" where she hasn't made it to the bathroom on time. She has a hard time making friends and kids in the class often don't want to include her. She just doesn't fit in with the others. Kids can be so cruel and I saw this when I assigned students places to sit at tables and I heard a collective "ewwww" when it was discovered that Ping was sitting near them. I cringed inside, wondering how it felt to be Ping -- socially outcast, alone, not known for who she really is.

When we started building the birdhouses, all of the students were eager and excited. Each day I gave the student's instructions on one segment of the project. One day we would screw the sides to the floor. The next day we would nail the front and back to the sides. Later we would build the roof and, bravely, we would finally paint. I broke the project into manageable pieces for our 50 minute class periods each day. Once I was done giving instructions, they were set loose to build. Most asked for help. "Can you hold this board while I get the screw started?" "Will you explain how to do it again?  I don't get it." Some needed to be reminded to use a screwdriver -- not a hammer -- with the screws. But Ping went to work on her own -- determined, purposeful, confident. Her eye-hand coordination was like no other third grader I had ever seen. She measured and pounded and screwed with ease and fluidity. In fact, she could switch between using her right or left hand while hammering with no problem. Each day, Ping finished her project first and then she started helping others. She held boards, explained the best way to hold the hammer, or just went to work along side another student. Because I couldn't get to all the students who were calling out, "Ms. Sannes!  Can you help me?" all at once, I really appreciated Ping's new-found expertise. She quickly became well-known in the class and greatly sought after. In fact, I started hearing, "Ping, when you're done helping Trayvon, can you come help me?"   

Ping began to shine. Her typically guarded, angry demeanor changed. She became excited, animated, even happy. Moreover, the attitude of others changed. They saw Ping for who she really was. She had been among them every day but they didn't recognize her true potential, her helpful personality, or her keen ability to construct. They didn't really know her until they experienced her in a new and different way.

Once we were done building and the class was ready to move on to another enrichment rotation, I had a chance to talk privately with Ping. I expressed how impressed I was with her woodworking skills and thanked her for her help with the class. I gave her a picture that I took and I told her that she has incredible skills that she will be able to use when she grows up. I told her that she could be a great carpenter...or surgeon...or dentist...or so many other things that only she can dream of. On the back of the picture, I wrote "Dream Big!" I hope that when she looks at her birdhouse or the picture that shows her pride, she'll remember how incredible it felt to be in her element.