3rd grader with difficult home life asks her beloved 2nd grade teacher to adopt her: 'It broke me and she was being serious. I would adopt all these kids if I could'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 17, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

Nearly every kid has accidentally called a teacher "mom" and felt embarrassed about it. In many ways, teachers are second parents to so many kids. Kids spend the hours of 8 AM to 3 PM at school, and if they're in elementary school, that whole time (outside of gym, recess, and electives) is spent with that one person. If a teacher is compassionate and present (and supported by their administration if we're going to go there), they can be an incredibly stable figure for kids who don't have other sources of stability in their lives. If a kid has negligent parents, a chaotic home life, or siblings that take up most of their parent's attention, the work of a teacher can go so much further than merely providing a solid educational foundation. An elementary school teacher recently found out the impact of this work is when his former student asked him to adopt her. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10404922368
    via 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič

    Photo does not depict the real subject in the story

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    I was not prepared for this
    via u/Devo4711
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    No amount of subbing or schooling prepared me for this. Last year I had a wonderful student who was taken away from her home because mom has a drug problem and dad wasn't any better. She ended up living with her aunt but due to the long drive she ended up switching schools. She returned to our school this after her aunt was able to find a way for her to get her to and from school. She's in 3rd grade now and so am I since I moved up from 2nd though she's not in my class. On Friday she came up to
    via u/Devo4711
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    Like No amount of any type of training can prepare you for this job. It broke me and she was being serious. I would adopt all these kids if I could. How do we do this?
    via u/Devo4711
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    Update: first thanks for all the replies and everyone's stories. They have really helped. I've probably cried more times this weekend than I ever have. Second, tomorrow I am speaking with our school counselor to find out how her situation is at her aunt's house. Maybe there's more to it and that's why she asked me to adopt her. We don't have students tomorrow for staff development day so hopefully on Tuesday we can find out more info
    via u/Devo4711
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    Goblinking79 I got a mother's day card (hand made) from a kid one time. Said something like, "I know you're not my real mom, but I feel safe around you and that's what Mom's do." Whoo. Another time, a kid gave me his teddy bear. He was homeless at the time (his dad was great though, and trying so hard to get them back on track) and I was just moving into my new place (a beach house). He said I would keep the bear safe. Kids in unstable homes see us as stable, caring people in their lives, which
    via u/Goblinking79
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    Devo4711 OP Omg that's so sweet. That's really rough though and that these kids know what's going and are forced to make these decisions like giving you his bear so he's in a safe place
    via u/Devo4711
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    FrysOtherDog I'm not telling you to adopt her. But a family friend of my ex wife was an older school teacher who ended up adopting two of her highschool/middle school students over the years. You never saw two kids who were so grateful and at peace for having someone love them like that, and though there were struggles for all 3, they excelled for it. Went on to become good adults. Worth thinking about.
    via u/FrysOtherDog
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    Janice, if you see this, you will always be one of my heroes and I detest that your racist "friends" abandoned you like that just bc you adopted those kids. Fuck em, you are a true Christian, American, and role model. Sam would have been so very proud of you, his love, God rest his soul.
    via u/FrysOtherDog
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    Kryssikush I remember having teachers like you guys. You all really did make a world of difference in my life. I'm 30 years old, and my absolute favorite teacher was Ms. Hammer from fourth grade. She saw me at a taco stand a couple of months ago, and we instantly recognized each other. We both cried and hugged each other so tightly. I missed my second mamma so much. I'm going to get a guest pass and visit her at work, where she's still impacting children's lives. ❤
    via u/Kryssikush
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    FatKanchi Oh man. I once had a four year old tell me, "I know you're not my mom, but you're like my mom. You play with me, take care of me, and tell me when I do something bad. That's what moms do." This childless cat lady's heart (and yes, he did often do "something bad" - got kicked out of one preschool before - and he was a LOT to handle, but I'm tearing up right now just thinking that he recognized what was going on. Setting boundaries, expectations, and guiding his behavior was caring for h
    via u/FatKanchi
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    midwestblondenerd I took in a student as a foster kid―the best thing I ever did. After a few years, she was returned to her family, and they are doing SO well. We made sure she went to the same school as my biological son so we could keep an eye on her. The whole family is now part of our family-a miracle.
    via u/midwestblondenerd
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    EDIT: This is a weird experience with all the upvotes; it makes me uncomfortable. I am nobody special. Anyone can do what I did, but it takes patience and hard work. I want people to understand that it does not take a "saint" to do this; we need more people to do what we did. Hard? Yes. But most of the time, the kids are not the nightmares you hear about. Of course, there were issues like food hoarding, but it was not much different from my teenage son's bedroom right now, lol. She was younger t
    via u/midwestblondenerd
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    Seph_Allen My 4th grade teacher and her husband took my twin brother and me in as foster kids when we were in high school. It was one of the best things that ever happened to us.
    via u/Seph_Allen
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    jibberish13 I used to go to elementary schools and do what my company called "in school field trips". Meaning I was in each class for 90 mins max. I had multiple kids ask me to adopt them. It broke my heart every time.
    via u/jibberish13
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    Devo4711 OP I think it means even though at times I feel in no way should I be a teacher: the kids aren't listening, they all bombed a reading test, ETC then one kid does something like this. You know someone's listening and if it's one connection out of whatever then you did something right
    via u/Devo4711
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    lacazu I'm not a teacher but I have six kids. Four of them are adopted. We wanted to do foster care and on the very first day of class, we were approached by DCF and told they had a sibling group of 4 children who needed a home. They ranged in age from 18 months to 8 years old, and I had a bio son that was 7 and one that was 18. How do you say no to that? Anyway, 12 years later, it was the hardest but most wonderful thing I've done with my life. I love them all so much , and they have enriched o
    via u/lacazu
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    Comfortable Wild 1889 Adopt her. Get out of education. Be free and live the life you were intended to Ms.Honey.
    via u/ComfortableWild1889
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    aussie_teacher_ I was told in my teacher training that you will absolutely fantasize about adopting students. I would not be prepared for a student to ask this though. I'm glad this student is connected with your and back at your school.
    via u/aussie_teacher_
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    Devo4711 OP Yeah when I heard she was coming back I was so excited I wish she was in my class but at least I know she's down the hall and in very good hands
    via u/Devo4711
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    bananas_777 it's the ultimate compliment. I would adopt kids too if I could. When I taught elementary, it got me so bad. Now teaching high school, I can say, "I am your school fairy godmother. And you know we are always here for you" (our school is really big on school based support systems so when I say we it's teachers, counselors, coaches, etc). I'm glad she has you there and she got to come back. When I first started teaching, I would get so in my feels with some kiddos and their situations.
    via u/bananas_777
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    Devo4711 OP Thanks for that. I knew teaching in a tougher side of town would come with this and I'm glad I'm there for her and really a lot of them are there for me
    via u/Devo4711

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