The Education of Ms. Groves

It is almost November, and Monica is afraid her visible anger and frustration at her student’s lack of progress will push them away. She wants them to respond to her the way she responded to her favorite teacher. But how?

Monica Groves: With Ms. Kamminga I never felt, “She doesn’t like me today.” I felt, “I dissapointed Ms. Kamminga, I better get it together.”

Monica, of course, has her share of students who “have it all together.”

Meet Drew. Monica has been noticing him ever since she read his autobiographical poem.

FREE VIDEO Drew's poem Drew Underwood, who his English teacher Ms. Groves nominated for the school's gifted program, reads a poem he wrote in class, where he describes himself as a smart black boy. Dateline NBC

Groves: In him I can see two directions. Either what he has can blossom, can go, can just explode, or it can become dormant.

Monica decides to nominate Drew for the school’s highly selective gifted program.

Hoda Kotb, Dateline correspondent: Why do you want to get into the gifted program?

Drew: It’ll be more of a challenge to me.

Kotb: But it’s not easy to get into that gifted program, now is it?

Drew: No. We have to take a lot of tests.

Is he up to the challenge? It’s December 10^th, just a month after the nomination and Monica’s disappointed to find out he hasn’t finished the most important book report of the first semester.

Groves: Why didn't you have assignment?

Drew: [doesn’t answer].

Groves: I expect much better from you.

Monica calls Drew’s home. There’s no mom on the other end of the line; Monica finds out she died five years ago. No father either — he’s absent. It’s Drew’s grandma who’s raising him and his two brothers.

Kotb: Do you have an iron fist when you rule this roost?

Drew’s grandma: I’ll admit to you sometimes I come in here, you know, and I’ll tell a boy what I mean and I mean for him to do it now.  And sometimes I have to get them a little close to me to tell it to them.

The rules of grandma’s household: two hours of homework or reading each night. Keep your room clean. Go to church on Sunday.

Kotb: Do you mind me asking how old you are?

Grandma: Well, now usually I don’t tell my age, especially on public television, you know that’s—that’s asking a lady a whole lot, but—let’s say that I’m past 75, over 75 and I’m not 90, so—

Kotb: The fact that you are of this age and here you are raising kids, all over again?

Grandma: Well I’ll tell you this:  It’s not what I had planned at all. And it’s not what I would choose to do, but if this is what I need to do, I just feel like I just get up and do it the best I can.

Kotb: What do you think of her?

Drew: She...She has a lot of love in her.

Back in the classroom Monica is having a tough time showing her love. It wasn’t only Drew—more than half her students failed to bring in that final book report.

But en route to another outburst Monica stops herself. This time she decides to recite a poem—Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.” Words of inspiration. Right now, it’s what Monica needs herself.

A boy sitting in the back of the class is listening intently to Monica’s words—Stephen. Monica knows him as a solid “B” student who turns in all his work, but not much more than that.

Groves: I feel like he has so many layers. And I feel like I still don’t know him, but he intrigues me. 

If Monica would peel away the layers she would find that the boy “who has a bird next door,” doesn’t have much. Not even a home. Stephen, his single mom and three younger siblings are living in a small hotel room.

Kotb: Where do you do your homework?

Stephen: Sometimes I do it in a car on the way to the hotel, or sometimes I do it on the bed with my face turned to the wall. I don’t wanna get distracted with my work.

Stephen’s mom is on disability. She is a cancer survivor and has been in and out of hospitals for years.

Stephen: I have to help her a lot cuz she cries in the night?

Kotb: She cries at night?

Stephen: Yes. I’m always up in the middle of the night trying to help her the best I can.

Kotb: So you’re kind of the man of the house?

Stephen: Yes. My mom calls me that. I’m like, I’m just a little boy, how can I be man of the house?

Just before Christmas, Stephen receives some good news. A public housing agency has found his family a new home.

But move-in day turns into another day of sadness. An inspector tells Stephen’s mom the house is uninhabitable.

Whether his mother’s tears affect Stephen or not, he doesn’t show it.

It is a couple of days before winter break. The school band is practicing a Christmas tune. Back in the hotel room with his family, Stephen is confident his ordeal will soon end.

Stephen: If you don’t have any doubt in your heart, you can do great things. My mother said that to me, and I’m saying that in my head every time. I says: “Don’t doubt anything. Don’t doubt anything. Don’t doubt anything.”

And there is someone else who’s giving Stephen hope... inspiring him without even knowing it.

Stephen: Ms. Groves. She always smiles. Even if she’s a little sad, she always has a little happy in her voice.

It’s report card time... and Monica will need all the optimism she can muster.

MORE FROM THE EDUCATION OF MS. GROVES

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The Education of Ms. Groves A classroom as fascinating TV? Producer: Chronicling Monica's journey Meet Ms. Groves' students The principal's point of view Mrs. Kamminga, Monica's inspiration and 1st grade teacher The Education of Ms. Groves Section Front   Add The Education of Ms. Groves headlines to your news reader: