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Troubled kids talk out when they should be listening and break all of the rules they can think of. Andy had that record. But in the third grade they often change. Andy did change. He was an adorable kid. The thing that I remembered the best about him was that he just loved stories that I read to them right after lunch - for about 15 minutes at a time. He would be waiting in line before the bell rang, so he could be in his seat and be ready for the story. He sat with his hands folded and he never took his eyes off of me all throughout the story. Many times, I couldn't resist reading a tiny bit more, just for his attention. Once when I was ready to put the book away, he said, "Can we read that part again?" I did.
He was a smart kid and his smartness came out many times not only in his school work, but in little things that he would think up to do. Most of the time they were funny and i resisted my urge to laugh. I would just tell him it was unacceptable and went on with the lessons. Being a smart kid, he didn't persist in his efforts to distract for very long.
I always called kids by their formal name. While they were always Cindy in former grades, in my class they were Cynthia. So Andy was always Andrew. He was still called Andy by other kids, until one day a kid called him Andy, and he said, "My name is Andrew." I loved him more than ever at that moment.
I had him early in my career, so he is in his early twenties now. He was 8 then (third grade). I recently saw him in the post office. He said my name several times, but it was very soft. So when I was leaving the window, he said it louder. I looked at him. He grinned. Of course, I exclaimed, "Andrew!" and gave him the mandatory hug. He turned out to be an even more delightful young man. Of all of the kids I could have met, I was so very glad to see my Andrew... He still has that mischievous gleam in his eye!
