I sit down to write my blog, and I'm usually so exhausted that I never finish. I have 3 or 4 half-finished entries just waiting to be posted, so I think I'll just sum them all up here. Sorry I've been such a lousy blogger!
Okay...summin' up time. Here we go!
Joys: I'm really starting to connect with some of my kids. Some of them have given me cute nicknames (such as "Mrs. M-fresh" or "Miss Lady"), but I have quite a few who stop by before and after school just to chat with me. One student brought me pages of her poetry to ask for my opinion. Another brought me pictures of his cat that I had asked about. Another came to me for advice on how to win a girl over. I am so grateful that they feel comfortable coming to me for advice, help, or just for company. I'm starting to feel like I mean as much to them as they mean to me, and it's a beautiful thing.
Losses: One of the other cheer coaches lost her father yesterday. You probably heard about it on the news. He was driving his motorcycle at 7:30 A.M. Sunday morning when he was hit by a 24-year-old drunk driver. I cannot fathom how it feels to lose a father. I can't imagine how different my life would be. . .how much it would hurt. One man's foolish choice robbed others of a brother, uncle, husband, and father. Would it have been that difficult to call a cab? To stay where he was until he sobered up? He, of course, survived and his currently being charged with manslaughter. My friend is devastated, and I'm hurting for her. Prayers would be much appreciated.
Also, while I am so excited that my students feel comfortable enough to come to me for help, I am also saddened and overwhelmed by their stories. I wish I had known what some kids have to go through at 14-years-old when I was in high school. I took so much for granted. I thought almost everyone's parents were together and happy. I thought everyone participated in sports or fine arts, ate dinner at 6:00, and saw their brothers and sisters every day. I never had to work a part-time job after school to help support my family; I never knew what it was like to genuinely struggle. I experienced hardship sometimes, of course. But not like this. Never like this.
One of my students has been taken away by CPS multiple times. Last time it was because of allegations that her father had raped her. She's scared of opening up and tired of getting hurt.
One of my students was evicted from her apartment this week. Her mom lost her job, and she's not sure how they're going to make ends meet. Mom was also just diagnosed with cancer.
Several of my students have never met their parents because they're locked up in prison. Some of my students were abandoned at a young age and live with friends of the family, grandparents, or strangers. Many have experienced abuse and neglect.
They come to me with these stories that make me sick. I am not trained for this. I am not a counselor or psychiatrist. I'm a teacher. I don't have the answers, but I have compassion. And maybe I can't tell them to believe in God, but I can show them the wonderful things He's done in my life, and I can pray that He'll guide them when they don't have good parents or friends to push them in the right direction.
I'll always be a listening ear. But I won't pretend like it doesn't wear me out. It hurts. I hurt for them. But they trust me, and I honestly cannot tell you how much joy that brings me. I have more stories than I could possibly share in one post, but trust me--you wouldn't want to hear all of them.
Favorite lesson plan so far: I taught me kids about the writing process using play-doh. Most students receive a writing assignment, type something up the night before it's due, and hand it in. Of COURSE they're not going to produce quality writing. They haven't revised, edited, re-read, or even attempted in any way to perfect their paper.
This year I'm putting far more emphasis on the writing process than the ultimate product. It's kind of the "teach a man to fish" mentality.
First I asked the kids to create a list of things they might create with their play-doh: grapes, cookies, pizzas, aliens, snakes, etc. (Later I related this portion of the activity to brainstorming before writing a paper. You never begin writing a paper cold. It has no organization or direction. If you brainstorm several ideas and then select one from your list, it's much easier to start writing and far easier to figure out exactly where you're going.)
Second I asked students to select one item from their list and to take five minutes to create that object out of their play-doh. (This is the "drafting" process of writing. You create a "sloppy copy." This is the copy most kids turn in to their teachers. No wonder their writing, spelling, and grammar is atrocious. They write it and don't both to glance at it a second time.)
Next, I asked students to add to their creation using a second color. Then they molded, reshaped, or reorganized their creation. (This is the "revision" process. We can always add more details to our writing and beef it up with some great figurative language.)
Then I ask students to take something away from their creation--something that wasn't completely necessary. (This is the editing process. We check for proper grammar, punctuation, etc. We also check for unnecessary or superfluous details that don't do anything except distract the reader from the REAL story.)
Last, I asked students to display and name their creation. (This reflects the "publishing" part of writing. After brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing, our papers should be stellar! We should be so proud of our writing that we are willing and wanting to share it with the world.)
The kids LOVED this. They actually UNDERSTAND the process. They understand why it's important. We are currently writing memoirs, and we are in the "revising" stage. Every day I ak, "What stage are we in now?" and they can tell me where we are and what we're doing. It's fabulous.
Not every single day runs flawlessly, of course. My first and fourth period are HARD. Those are my "regulars" classes. These kids are often second-language learners or have motivational problems. My pre-AP babies are BRILLIANT. They love language and literature as much as I do. It's so wonderful to be in a room full of people who are obligated to talk about books with you. :)
Overall, things are going well. I think God put me in this place for a reason; He lead me to these kids because He thought I could help them. I just hope I'm making Him proud.
Love you & God bless!
