Christine Banga Adair lived in Plant City, Florida, with her loving husband and four adorable young children. She taught first graders for over 16 years and understood the importance of teaching young people valuable lessons that were not always part of their school curriculum.
One day she went to her daughter’s school, Carington, to pick her up at recess. Adair often played a game with her little ones to make coming home fun and exciting.
Recalling details of an interesting game Adair played with her children, she shared:
“When I come home from school, my children and I play the “game of ups and downs”. We tell each other our maximum of the day (the best part) and our minimum (something they would like to change) of the day. ”
A Plant City resident said her 12-year-old daughter said something to her, that overpowered everything else and brought her to tears.
Not only was she confused, but she was at a loss for words and said that she was struggling to to hold back tears.
According to Adair, her daughter’s story began with,
“Mom, I made the teacher cry today.” The moment the mother of four heard these words, her first thought was negative.
The mother said she didn’t want to doubt her sweet daughter, but part of her began wondered what Carington had done that made the teacher cry. She was still trying to understand her daughter’s words when she was interrupted.
It turned out that Carington hadn’t finished telling the whole story yet. Then she told her mom about a boy from her art class who had Tourette’s syndrome, a condition in which people make involuntary sounds and repetitive movements that are difficult to control.
Carington told her mother that everyone made fun of the boy for his strange actions. Adair listened intently as her daughter continued her story. She recalled the details of her conversation with Carington:
“Today he fell to the ground. I looked around and saw that all these students were laughing at him, so I went over to him and lay down next to him. The class Stopped laughing. ”
According to Carington, at that time there was a deputy teacher (the boy’s mother) who witnessed everything that was happening. With tears in her eyes, the teacher entered the drawing room, thanked Carington and hugged her. The young girl also said:
“Mom, that hug was so tight, it was tighter than Aunt Jenna’s hugs! She kept saying that I was a lovely girl and thanked me over and over again. ”
Upon hearing her daughter’s touching story, Adair was overwhelmed with many emotions. Not only was she confused, but she was speechless and said she did her best to hold back her tears.
The proud mother told how her daughter looked at her, noticed the tears in her eyes, and understood everything. In addition, Adair also showed how her daughter’s kindness touched her soul:
” There is nothing my baby could do that would make me prouder–nothing ! No honor, no incredible talent, no stellar athlete, or anything else we consider unusual. Nothing like standing up for what is right and showing compassion and empathy for others.”
In addition to being proud of her young daughter, Adair also sent a powerful message to the mothers of students with special needs. She assured them that there are caring people out there who always advocate for what is right.
In addition, Adair also asked parents to talk to their little ones about such important topics such as autism, Tourette syndrome, racism and more. She encouraged parents to share their stories and feelings with their little ones to help them become responsible and compassionate people.
Drawing on her experience as a teacher, Adair emphasized the importance of fostering compassion and empathy in young people.
