Twenty-six first-graders were shoehorned into my classroom. The state limit in Texas schools is 22, but if you ask for a waiver, it’s generally granted. So, that year my final number of students landed at 26.
There’s no way to adequately separate that many first-graders. No matter how you arrange the classroom, inevitably someone will aggravate someone else.
In this setting, I taught this “small army” of kids to read that year – while also experiencing what I call “the year of the screamer.”
That year one of my students screamed every. single. day. She had so much drama she needed an agent.
To make things worse, there was the odor. Have you ever smelled that many first-graders right after recess? It’s akin to a litter of sweaty puppies. Seriously.
The sheer number of students also required a vast inventory of supplies. By the end of the school year, glue sticks seemed only slightly less valuable than gold.
Needless to say, it was a tough year.
It caused me to experience what Jean Piaget – the famed child-development psychologist – called “disequilibrium.”
Piaget said that for someone to accomplish meaningful learning he must encounter a discrepancy between what he used to know and what he needs to learn in order to grow. Piaget termed that feeling “disequilibrium.”
Educators try to create appropriate levels of disequilibrium in their students. They know it’s necessary for learners to be uncomfortable so they can grow in new ways.
Isn’t that what God often does with us?
My faith has grown the most when things didn’t look like I expected or when I’ve been reluctantly obedient. During those times, I’ve felt off-balance and unsure.
That’s what happened to me during the “year of the screamer.” I learned more from that one chaotic year than I did in all my years of teaching put together.
Sister, if you’re in a season of disequilibrium, hold on. God is too loving to leave us where we were. When we regain our footing and life feels steady again, we’ll have a brand-new perspective and a fresh take on grace.
Maybe we can even find a way to give thanks in the midst of our “26.” We can rest assured that everything God does is to accomplish our good and His glory.
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
– Romans 8:26-28 (MSG)
Suzy Stjernstom
South Central Field Director