Teacher Moment

Alyssa Regner
Thursday October 10th, 2013
Ericksons Core 4 Literacy Class
Narrative (Origin Story)

Tick, tick, tick-tick, went the keys as I tapped the virtual keyboard on my Kindle Fire. Each letter I typed took
me one step closer to completing this homework assignment. As I continued to strenuously tap the keys, I suddenly heard
a knock coming from the hallway door. Knock, knock-knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, went the sound caused by
the pounding of a human fist onto a wooden door. I knew just by the beat of the knock that it was my grandpa.
Is anybody home? he spoke in a villain's tone of voice as if he was trying to creep us out.
I pretended that I wasnt there and just didnt respond.
I listened as my grandpas shoes made a thud on the hardwood floors of our kitchen as he slowly moved closer
and closer to the living room. I just kept quiet until... he was there; in the living room, and looking around to observe the
premises of the room. He just smiled. You could see the excitement and happiness on his face. He just kept trudging and
was entering the living room. After taking one step after the other, he arrived right in front of me with his hands held out
standing by, just waiting, to squeeze me tight into him. The warmth of his body when I gave him a hug reminded me of
the wonderful times we used to have in Florida at his comforting house. The weather was at the perfect temperature of
about 83 degrees and sunny. We had great memories and moments there. Our relationship grew from when I was only a
little pipsqueak to a fifth grader. I could remember the times we used to go out to eat for breakfast and when he would
play tricks on us when we were younger. Then now, I was currently in the process of teaching him how to use my Kindle.
All those memories made in Florida, now more to be made in Wisconsin as he was now permanently living here.
I only spent a little more time downstairs until I felt like I was beginning to turn into the little golden snitch from
the game, Quidditch in Harry Potter. Just the smallest littlest thing in the game just starting to circumnavigate away from
the rest of the game. Everyone else's conversations and appreciation of me being in the room was slowly disappearing.
After a while, I couldnt ignore the fact of being a ghost anymore. The Packer game would be starting in about 15
minutes. I thought that I mine as well just get an early appearance back up to my bedroom to continue my homework.

Unanticipatedly, I heard two knocks in a row, coming from my bedroom door.
Come in, I called, loud enough for the person behind the door to hear me.
It was my dad.
Hi Lissy. Hows your homework going? he asked in a caring voice as if he actually cared that Ive been upstairs
in my room for hours.
Good, I responded in a Im busy type of voice, as usual.
I think that you should take a break and come down to visit with Grandpa before he leaves.
Okay. Ill be right down.
Meanwhile, as my dad was leaving the room, I began to wrap up what I was doing. I didnt close anything on my
laptop because I was planning on coming back up after I was done visiting with Grandpa.
I sauntered down the off-white carpeted set of stairs leading to the lower level of our house. Once I reached the
bottom, I dashed off into the kitchen to meet Grandpa there. Of course, when I arrived there he was eating veggies and
dip. It seems like hes always eating. I stood next to him and started eating veggies and dip too and then he
noticed my hand in the dip and faced towards me.
Hi Alyssa! What have you been doing up there?
Ive been working on homework. Well, actually its not really homework. Im just going ahead because some in
some of my classes, we can just go at our own pace so we can go faster if we want or a bit slower. Im like way ahead of
everyone else in my grade. But you still do have to be caught up at some extent because there still are deadlines. You can
also fall behind if you arent getting the assignments in on time.
So, what types of things are you doing in this class?
Well, its like an engineering class where you learn about different fields in engineering. Do you want me to
show you? I can bring my laptop down here.
Sure. Id like to see what kinds of things youve are doing in this class. It sure isnt a class that I had in middle
school, or high school.
I quickly ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I unplugged my laptop from the wall socket where it was charging and
carried it with both arms slowly but anxiously down the stairs to meet my grandpa again.
Where do you want me to show you this? In the living room? On the kitchen table? I asked knowing that hed
probably want to sit down while I was presenting my work to him.
How about the kitchen table.
We both seated ourselves right next to each other on the rounded part of our oval kitchen table. I setup my laptop
in between so that we both could see and read what was on it.
To begin with, this is my STEMfolio. I created this whole website on my own. I accessorized the fonts, font
colors, font headings, theme of the website and everything else that makes up the website. I also typed all of the words
and writing on here as well.
What is the purpose of this website that you created? he asked.
This website is used to show all of the work and projects that Ive completed this year. It shows everything that
Ive achieved.
My grandpa nodded his head with to show understanding.
So on the sidebar or navigation here on the side, are all of the pages that Ive created that have all of the different
subjects sorted out. So if you go under the Science tab that is a subpage to Core Classes. This means that science, literacy
and Algebra 1 are all my core classes meaning that they are all required and are the main classes that need to be taken.
Now getting back on subject, the class that I was going to show you is STEM University. That is the class that I was
telling you about before where you can go at your own pace.
I clicked on the Module 1 page under the STEM University page and started to show him all my work from this
class that I did in module 1. I explained every days worth of work very thoroughly without reading every single
document. I continued on and went through all of the activities that Ive done in only the first three weeks of school. I
could see in my grandpa's face that he was actually understanding and listening to what I was saying. I knew that I was
actually being listened to and was actually getting some attention about what Ive been doing in my life. I felt like I was
actually teaching him something and he was acting serious about it and not acting as his humorous self like he does when
hes around his grandkids. I was like a teacher that he never had in middle school or high school. I actually felt (sorry to
say), smarter than him. Knowing that I know more than my 86-year old grandpa, made me feel valuable to him.
Now Im going to go back to the subpages of my core classes and then show you the rest of the pages that I have
created on this website, okay? I announced to my grandpa who was now eating a salad as part of his dinner. I was
amazed that Id actually talked to my grandpa for this extended amount of time so far. Id never talked to someone this
much about any kind of topic. Ill admit, Im more like one of those kids who doesnt really talk to anyone except for my
mom and a little bit to my dad and brother. I do have two friends but were kind of opposites when it comes to likes and
dislikes as well as traits of personalities. Therefore, I dont talk to them very often either. So this moment made me feel
like I was coming out of my bubble and exposing myself to the world. This type of feeling made me feel uncomfortable at
first about sharing my life with someone else. But then I became used to it and figured that I couldnt just stop in the
middle of my explanation and say that I dont want to share the rest of my projects and ideas with my grandpa.
Continuing on, I showed him the pages created for my core classes from before. I gave him a chance to read these
now because I was getting tired of having to keep on reading everything to him. I felt like my voice had been used for
long enough. Hes capable of reading it himself, right? After he had finished reading one page, I continued onto the
next. After there were no more core classes subpages left, I showed him the pages for STEM inc. Lastly, I showed him my
science notebook that I use for science.
This is another website where I created the whole thing; every little detail. The only difference between the last
one is of course that this one is for science and the last one just shows all of my assignments and completions of the year,
I explained by contrasting between the two websites of mine.
I could sense that the end of my lesson was coming close. I looked outside as I noticed that the sun was just
setting into the horizon. A beautiful orange color filled the northeast.
So, now since you have learned the things that Ive done in STEM University, the engineering class, its your
turn. Show me what you can do! I joked. I knew my grandpa would have no idea what to do or even where to start. He
has no understanding of electronics what-so-ever. If you asked him how to turn a laptop or computer on, he wouldnt
know how to. I once tried to have him use my mouse for my laptop, and he didnt know how it worked. I figured that
everyone had to know how to use a mouse!
Hahaha, he laughed in amazement and regrefullment as soon as I mentioned that its his turn to do what I just
showed him. Nice try. Youre not going to get me doing any of this! I wouldnt even know how to do it.
I knew that by every word she spoke, this school was really benefiting her. Education these days has advanced to
the maximum. I cant even imagine trying to put some of these projects together. I wouldnt even know where to start!
This is just amazing, how someone that is only in the seventh grade has the ability and intelligence to be able put
everything together, learn these things, and even comprehend them. This work is way past my generation.

At the present time, it was silent for a couple minutes. Everyone (me, my grandpa and my dad) were all just
standing (or sitting) in place not saying anything. It was weird how everyone was like trying to avoid looking at eachother
and they were just looking around and/or in a trance.
Dad, are you ready to go home now or do you want to stay a little longer? my dad asked to grandpa with his
booming voice to break the silence.
I guess Im ready to go home now, he replied in a calm and confident voice.
Okay Ill take you home then.
Alex and Alyssa, Im going to be taking Grandpa home now so come give him a hug and say good bye.
My brother and I both came into the kitchen where my dad and Grandpa were. We each took turns giving our
Grandpa a hug. He gave us each a kiss. I could feel his rough skin of his face on mine. . When he gave me my hug and
kiss, he whispered this in my ear: Thank you for teaching me all of the things that youve been doing at school so far.
I didnt say anything but just show that I appreciated what he had quietly just whispered in my ear. My dad and I both
walked Grandpa and the hallway. I just gave one more last goodbye to him there and then my dad went outside to walk
into his car and talk to him about other things. My dad is usually out there for at least 15 to 20 minutes talking to grandpa
of upcoming events that he might want to do with us. Once he came back in, I knew that my grandpa had left our property
and was on his way home.
Theres a little miracle in todays world, having a child that is truly yours. Children start out as little babies and
they dont know anything. As the days progress, they watch what others do and develop traits and ideas of how things
work. Once theyve been in the world for two to three years they put these ideas together and they start to figure things
out such as; walking, talking and what to do with different objects. Each day, as they continue to develop new skills
eventually they go to school and learn how to use those abilities and learn new ones such as writing, reading, and doing all
sorts of math problems. From birth to age 8, children are learning new techniques as well as new speaking skills and in
school they learn how to interact with other children. When this day started, I was like that newborn baby; I was self-
confident, self-reflective, and I kept my thoughts and feelings to myself (unlike babies, they cry to show their feelings).
As the moment went on, I was beginning to learn new things about myself. I was sharing my school activities with
someone else who actually cared about what I was doing and learning. After the moment was over, I learned that when I
let someone (my grandpa) know about what Im doing and what I feel about what Im doing in school, that it wasnt so
bad. He actually enjoyed and appreciated what I was explaining to him. He didnt just ignore me and pretend that I wasnt
there. I was learning a new skill, and I was learning how to better interact with others about a subject that we both care
about (me; teaching him about what I was doing in school, him; listening about what I was doing in school). During this
moment, I was developing a new skill just like a baby when it developed those ideas of how things work and then
understood the concept of how things work, how to interact, and how to do many different things in our world.