Classroom Incubator for Connection

Dear Teacher,  
 

Oscar the duck spent the first few hours of her life in a trash can, but she's not grumpy about it.  She's being treated more like duck royalty than garbage.  

You see, Oscar was one of seven eggs, but her egg was about half the size of a typical call duck egg.  And when her siblings started hatching, she didn't.  When eggs of a clutch start hatching, their siblings will usually hatch within 24 hours, too.  

So, Jason Bennett, who regularly raises ducks and geese, gave Oscar more time.  However, after 60 hours, and she still hadn't hatched, Jason used a bright light to look through the shell to see if the duck inside was okay.  Sadly, though, the baby inside showed no movement.  Knowing that sometimes this is the unfortunate outcome, Jason accepted that the extra tiny duckling hadn't made it and he tossed the littlest egg in the garbage.  But after going about his day and coming back into the house seven hours later, there was a tiny cry coming from inside the garbage can.  Against all odds, Oscar had finally hatched!  And although she's smaller and looks a little different than her siblings, Jason didn't see her as the ugly duckling.  

Oscar, who is now thriving at one month old, is gaining more and more energy every day, and getting along swimmingly with Jason's other ducks.

And you, Teacher, there in your classroom, likely have some odd ducks in your classroom.  They're the students who are late-to-peck through, awkward in their feathers, and have yet to hatch into confident children.  Yet, you daily shine a bright light into their socially-baracaded shells, looking for life and personality.  While students may naturally toss these kids aside, you connect them to the rest of the brood, slowly helping them to break through and so they can become a bird of a feather that flocks together.

Thank you for being the classroom incubator for connection!
Mindy

Christian Educator & School Counselor