That student of mine who was diagnosed with severe depression quit a couple of weeks ago. The director told me that the student made the dance team at school. Dance team is free. Money is tight for her family, so she would be doing that instead. Selfishly, I was a little upset that I couldn't keep an eye on this kid. But, I thought, she's still dancing & it's free.. it's a win/win situation for her & her family.
Yesterday, I got an email from the student. It said, 'You must hate me because I quit. I'm really sorry. I miss you already. I've had some issues this year & this is a change I needed to make for me'.
I wrote back 'No, I don't hate you. I understand that you wanted to try something new. Good for you. It looks like you're being proactive in sorting out whatever it is that's wrong. Hope to see you soon. Keep in touch.'
When she responds again, she opens up a bit about her depression, tells me more about the dance team, etc. She thanked me for being a great teacher & begged me again not to be mad at her. Oh boy. I wrote her back & filled the email with lots of compliments, a personal story from high school and forsight into her future. I told her to contact me anytime if she needs to talk/vent. I hope I didn't open a can of worms here.
