This WordPress photo challenge came across my twitter feed today and I paused to consider the question. What does reward mean to me? What immediately came to mind was a Christmas a few years ago in my speech therapy room at school. One of the little first graders I was working with handed me a wrapped package,with a shy smile. I thanked her immensely before she skipped off to class. Another teacher happened to see her hand me the gift and went off for a good five minutes that she didn’t get a gift, so why had I? I opened up the box and showed her that it contained a small, plastic bottle filled with colored sand, made by hand and from the heart. The other teacher seemed satisfied that it wasn’t really anything she deemed valuable, but she was wrong. The same day I received the card in the picture from another student, addressed to me, “one bloved Britz”. I will never be wealthy doing what I do, but that was never my focus. My reward is seeing my students progress in so many ways, and knowing that they feel safe and celebrated and loved.
SmartmouthSLP 