'See with the eyes of love'- Differentiated Instruction

When I was reading these chapters, there was a section in Chpt 2 on pg. 14 that just stuck with me because it relates so closely to what I am experiencing with a student in my classroom. This student would be classified in the book as a 'struggling learner'. I have come home after student teaching just thinking of how I am going to try and reach to him when he doesn't want to be at school, he gets frustrated when he can't keep up and therefore, disrupts the whole class. In reading the section 'See with the eyes of love', the answer I knew all along is backed up in the book. The book states, " Perhaps a good definition of a friend is someone who loves us as we are, and envinsions us as we might be. If so, some students need a teacher who is a friend." I could not agree with this statement more. It's so funny to have read this after a faculty meeting I sat in on where a Powerpoint slide stated "Be friendly, not a friend." I understand where they were coming from when they mean this, but being a teacher really does mean being more than just being friendly. When you are a teacher, I believe that you make a promise to look out for the best interest of all your students. Doesn't a friend do the same thing? Is it so wrong these days to say you are a friend to your students? Does there have to be a negative conotation with being a friend? Friends trust one another, and students need to trust their teacher. For some students they need to feel that friendship with a teacher in order to succeed. After all you are their cheerleader all along their education. I have learned first hand with this student I have in my class that he needs a friend and deserves one, and if being his friend is what makes him want to be at school and want to excell then that is what I am going to do. As a friend to this child I really want to accomplish how Tomlinson puts it "unconditional acceptance and unwavering vision of total potential" These words hold so much power because you first must accept a child for who they are and then help them create that goal of their potential and have it be solid and steady. That is what struggling learners truly do need!