“Digging for the Leak”

Dear Teacher,  
 

Channel's husky, Kobe, had always been a well-behaved pet.  Living in metro-Philadelphia, Kobe knew not to bark, chase, jump, and dig.  However, when he suddenly began incessantly digging in his own yard and that of neighbors, Channel wondered what was happening.  To make matters worse, the digging was non-stop -- constantly asking to go out, just to go to the same spot and keep making his hole bigger.  

Yet, instead of becoming frustrated by the new behavior, Channel trusted her intuition and trusted that Kobe was trying to tell her something.  She inspected the hole, but didn't see anything.  Finally, she thought to place a gas detection device, immediately showing extreme levels of gas leaking from the hole beside the sidewalk.  When a gas crew came to fix the leak, they told Channel that, were the leak to have continued, gas would have leaked into all the houses on the block!  Without Kobe's "gas detection" behaviors, many neighbors could have experienced serious health issues, but something as simple as the flick of a light switch could have caused an explosion.  The crew worked for three days, discovering and repairing three other gas leaks in the area.  Now, thanks to Kobe's determination and Channelle's intuition, the whole neighborhood block was saved from a potentially disastrous situation!

And, you, Teacher, there in your classroom may feel like students are digging themselves into figurative holes.  Their unfinished school work is dipping their grades.  Their dysregulated behavior is sinking the classroom climate.  Their negative attitude is plunging your tolerance levels.  

Yet, like Channelle, rather than becoming frustrated, you trust that your student is trying to tell you something.  You use your own "detection meter" to discover what the issue is -- what trauma's are beneath the surface; what needs are unmet.  You do digging yourself -- Digging into medical records, previous academic report cards, outdated Individualized Educational Plans -- until you discover the leak!  Then you call in the fix-it crews to support your student -- Pediatricians, parents, psychologists, and patcher-uppers -- to address the need and provide solutions and likely prevented an explosion situation.  

Thank you, Educator, for looking beneath the surface of student behaviors!

Digging with you,

Mindy
Christian Educator & School Counselor