Redding School District

Riding your bike around the neighborhood is freedom for a kid.  My red chopper bike was my pride and joy.  Chopper like handlebars and banana style seat along with the sissy bar in the back made me king of the roads. 

In our neighborhood we had a local store and we often made frequent trips to it to look at the latest comic books or buy some penny candy.  This particular day my mother asked my brother and me to go to the store and buy some milk and bread.   We hopped on our bikes and headed out.  

My brother and I were typical siblings and we certainly had our competitive moments.   Mostly came from me being a young male who had to show his older brother that he could compete in anything and everything.  It often manifested itself in a fistfight during basketball games after a hard check on my shot or a yell fest after a tackle during a football game.   My friends still talk about it to this day.  It wasn’t if it would happen, but just when it would happen.  Usually something would occur, I would have my short moment, then I would calm down, and then the game would resume.  I have a wonderful relationship with my brother and we laugh about it now.

On this particular day, we were headed to the store and of course, I wanted to beat my brother there.  In his usual fashion, he would taunt me into thinking that I could actually win and then at the end, with a smirk on his face, beat me and say something like, “Too bad so sad you lose.”   You can imagine my mood after yet another loss.

My older brother purchased the items and we headed out the door.  My arms are crossed and a scowl is still squarely on my face when I say, “I want to carry the milk.”  My brother hands me the bread and replies, “Nope” while jumping on his bike and heads down the street toward home.  Tears start running down my cheeks with frustration and I hop on my bike and begin the chase.  I begin to yell and tell the world about his terrible brotherly transgressions as he ignores me and stays just ahead.

Do you remember Wonder Bread?  Do they even sell that anymore?  Wonder Classic White bread was our purchase of choice in the 1970s.  A large loaf of it was dangling beside my bike as I hurried to catch my brother.   In a blink of an eye, the back end of the loaf sucked into my rear wheel spokes and bread pieces were everywhere.   My brother and I froze in our tracks and I totally broke down.  I began to cry hysterically and as I gathered up the back end of the bread packaging and tried to preserve the remaining slices. 

It was then that my brother did something that was much unexpected.  He told me it would be all right and handed me the milk as he took the bread.   We both slowly made our way back to the house and showed my mother the result of our journey and I broke down again.   My mother did not like the situation but assured me it was going to be fine. 

The motivation of why kids act as they do isn’t always apparent at first glance or from our perspective.  Imagine being an adult watching the events from your home window as we passed by that spring afternoon.  What would have been your thoughts or reactions as the bread spewed about the road?  What would have been your reaction to my immature nature at the store?   What about my brother's reaction to my total meltdown that day?  Finding ways to learn about our students and them learn about us seems critical.   My brother and my mother knew that I was at my end and no criticism was going to get through at that moment.  I assure you my mother did address my attitude that day at a more appropriate time and she did it with understanding and knowledge of her kind loving but a very competitive son.

Thanks for your work on building supports and giving loving kindness to our students as well as helping them give loving kindness to each other.  Build ways for our students to learn about self and social intelligence.  These are skills that will follow them forever. 

Rob