Elle Deal teaches the fifth grade, (eleven to twelve-year-olds) and decided to do something different for a Friday afternoon.
Giving her class a short blurb entitled "Things I wish my teacher knew..." she asked her students to submit the exercises anonymously.
Some of the answers shocked her, and she took to Facebook to share the heartbreaking responses:
"Kid 1: I wish my teacher would know, my dad is in jail and I haven't seen him in years.
Kid 2: I wish my teacher would know, I don't always eat dinner because my mom works and I don't know how to work the stove.
Kid 3: I wish my teacher would know, my sister sleeps in the same bed as me and sometimes she wets the bed and that's why I smell funny.
Kid 4: I wish my teacher would know that I don't always have sneakers for gym class because my brothers and I share one pair.
Kid 5: I wish my teacher would know I like coming to school because it's quiet here, not like my house with all the yelling."
Deal continues to say that we need to be more perceptive to those around us, especially children who might not always have the comfort and security they need:
"We spend so much time talking and judging what we think we know... we need to ask more questions and spend more time listening. We also need to shift our mindset and see things from other people's perspective."
"Give more than we get. Live to serve and to help make a difference in others lives."
Deal's message of leaving "this life a little better than we found it" has certainly struck a chord with many and the post has been shared over 67,000 times:
A heart-rending reminder that kindness costs nothing.
