Last week one of my 11th graders told me that his backpack broke and his mom can't afford to buy him a new one until after the new year.

At the beginning of class today, I quietly said to my 11th grader, "Stay with me at the end of class because I have a backpack for you." The student's whole face lit up and he said through a huge grin, "I have a backpack now!"

After class, I let him pick between 2 bags I had found at TJ Maxx last night (both super nice - one was $3 the other $10). He picked the $3 PUMA backpack. He looked at me with a huge smile and said, "To be honest? I ain't never had a bag this nice. Thank you, Ms. Cook." He left my classroom beaming.