Meet the Child Who Will Someday Be in Charge of My Bedpan

             I am worried about today's youth...

             Too many parents today enable their children.  They get bent out of shape over inconsequential things (candy taken away by a teacher, the school enforcing the rules) and aren't aggressive advocates when they should be, like when their son or daughter is reading below grade level, or when their child has difficulties managing their anger or when their kids are not learning responsible work habits.

             If children live their childhood being considered the "exception" and thus do not have to follow the rules and and can regularly overstep the parameters, what kind of adult will they become? Are the rules always going to bend for them?  I doubt it...

             These children will grow up to become our leaders. Our business owners.  Our caregivers.

photo by le silly

              I am definitely worried about today's youth...

        

Still Waters...

        The frequently-used saying, "Still waters run deep" sometimes hits me on the head like a sledgehammer.

          I recently was checking out a blog I follow.  This particular posting was about a source of supreme joy in their life.  However, tragedy also played a part.  It wasn't at the core of the happiness, or surrounding the joyousness like a thin, brittle coating, but it was there all the same and ever-present.  That was the problem:  I really wanted to respond, but how?

         I could not figure out how this individual could endure such a horrific event without having it emblazoned on their chest.  Why is this deep wound not visible to everyone they encounter?  How can they live their life looking "normal," keeping all the sadness unseen and under the surface?  How could pure joy shine through, without a hint of grief?

         No words would come.  Lots of words came to mind, but none that could convey the myriad of things I felt, and not wanting to offend or say the wrong thing, I made no comment.

          The childen I work with deal with all sorts of things that kids should never even see.  One of my former students broke up a fight between his mother and her boyfriend.  He was bitter and scarred over what he had seen (probably many times).  Some of the kids (8 and 9-years old) go home to empty apartments with no older siblings, and the apartment complex is a bit rough. Many have adult responsibilities to take care of---watching siblings that are toddlers---even though they not ready to shoulder that load.  Some of the kids have parents who work nights; I shudder when I wonder if anyone is there with them while they sleep...We might get aggravated when they don't have their homework, but if Mom is an unmedicated bi-polar, how much blame can you heap on a child?

photo by Studio Neko

        People you see walking down the street, propelling themselves to their next destination, may have a calm exterior.  But you never know...

Seven Things About Me AND the First Two Days of School Debriefing

         A blog that I follow (a great teacher's blog) reminded me that I AM a human, along with being a superhuman (which is what you have to be these days in order to teach).

          She writes with humor and sharp stabs of reality.  Giving me an "Amazingness Award" (which is just a way of one already-overwhelmed teacher acknowledging another), she said I should pass this on to other teacher-bloggers and share seven things about myself. (Thank you, Underground Teacher.  I needed a little nod in my direction.)

         So, here goes:

1.  I like working with third graders, because you can mess with their mind.  Every year I convince my students that I used to be a professional wrestler 30 years ago. I hint that at some point, I have some secret holds and moves that I will have to use on them. I even tell them what my stage name was: "Rowdy Roslawski."  Their eyes widen and they are thrilled to have such former-greatness in their midst.  As nine-year olds, they still are trusting...

2.  All the questions that alcoholics can answer "yes" to about liquor, I can answer about chocolate.  It's a sickness.

3.  I really dislike colleagues who dislike children.  Why teach, then? (Get out!)  Every school has at least one.  Unfortunately, the kids have better radar than the adults; kids know instinctively which adults are genuine and caring, and which ones are fake and bothered by them.

4.  I watch way too much television.  It's my drug of choice in the evening (while I'm eating chocolate and grading papers).  The shows I love are The Closer, Sons of Anarchy, and Glee.  (I know, a wild range. There's some cooking/singing/dancing/modeling "reality" shows that I won't admit to watching.)

5.  Every situation you can think of can be connected to a Seinfeld episode.  Every single one.

6.  I am not above cheating, when it comes to playing board games with my son.  He's 22 now, but even when he was 11 or 12, his  strategic skills were amazing---he always won.  I could not cheat when we played Pente, or cards, but when we played Monopoly, I could. (When he would go to the bathroom, I'd help myself to some extra money. I figured it was my duty as a mom:  take him down a peg or two.  (After all, it is not good for kids to always be victorious.  They have to experience losing so they learn how to deal with it.)

photo by rutty

7.  I love my job.  It does not pay as much as some other professions, and we keep getting more stuff loaded onto our backs, and the big "perks" as a teacher involve some free food in the lounge, but I could not imagine doing any other work...

          We have had students for the past two days, and so much of the first few weeks revolve around building community, practicing lining up, and setting the tone.  I have some students who are going to test how hard my head is...I can already tell.  However, there is a whole group of them who are like "D."

            "D" sits at the back of my room (the desks are in a U shape) and is quiet.  He's new to our school.  His eyes glisten like obsidian (I think I'm remembering my science right--the glossy volcanic rock?).  When I speak to the class, or when we've discussed an activity and now it's time to work, it's as if he's poised, about ready to take flight, torn between wary and eager (or so it seems to me). The young man who sits next to him is a chatterbox, yet "D" does his best to ignore.

             "D" is why I am a teacher...

Out of the Ditches and Between the Lines...

            My ex-brother-in-law said something very eloquent once.  He stated that the key to raising kids (boys especially) was keeping them "out of the ditches and between the lines."  That simple idea embraces so much...the acknowledgment that kids will waver and drift and weave a bit, but if your offspring keep between the lines, and out of the ditches (avoiding major problems), you can consider yourself successful as a parent.

         Yesterday, I cried when my son left.  There have been a few tear-filled good-byes while he's been in college, but it has been a while since the last blubbering session. I mean, of course, I cried when we left him in his dorm room, a freshman.  We cried earlier that summer when he left to play his horn across Europe; there have been a couple more times over the past three years, but my memory is foggy.

        Yesterday was different...

        Yesterday, he was heading to work a six-month internship in Kansas City as a music therapist.  Every other time, when our son has left, we knew roughly when he would be coming back---Thanksgiving break, Christmas, Spring Break, summertime, and so on.  This time he was doing something real.  Something "grownup." This time, he might find a job (hopefully) after the internship is over, and he might never really come back home. 

          As a teacher, I worry about my students after they leave me in the spring and go upstairs to another teacher and another grade level in the fall.  Will Neimayah's teacher see the fear and fierce loyalty behind her (sometimes) flip facade?  Will Christian's teacher set the expectations high enough for him to flourish?  Will Arielle's teacher see her as a budding writer?

         I worry about them because they're no longer mine, but I also worry about them when they enter the real world a few years down the road.  State test scores aside, are they learning to be persistent when it comes to solving problems?  Are they learning to think outside of the box?  Are they learning to be passionate about knowledge?

         I worry that as a parent, and as a teacher, I could be doing more...

Artists Come in All Kinds of Styles

           Yesterday I met with Maureen Schmutzler, a photographic genius.  She went from working for a huge company's graphic arts department, to photographing weddings and babies to what she does now---capturing the true spirit of dogs and cats in unique poses and settings.

           She summed it up best when she said, "They are not here for very long."  Pet owners need to capture their personality and what they contribute to our lives before they leave us, because they leave way too soon.

           Take a gander at the photo of the pooch under the Arch (one of my favorites--the picture on the right side)Maureen's blog and photo site and spend some time on her blog.  She has a posting that lists the reasons why her life is so good (although there is one lie---she has NO winter "fat" left on her body, which causes me to secretly dislike her a little).   Too many times as teachers, we whine about the deficits we see in our students.  Stop the grousing! Your class' glasses are half full, not half empty. 

             Hearing her speak about her craft reminded me that sometimes, just handing a student a digital or a disposable camera drastically shakes things up. There's something about connecting pictures with words that increases the artistic power exponentially...

             One summer at our creative writing camp, my friend had a brilliant idea:  give the kids disposable cameras, they went in the woods and around the outside of the classroom, and took pictures.  They then told a story using the pictures as inspiration.  (Almost all of my great ideas were stolen from this friend.  It's true; I'm a shameless thief.)  It really changed the way they approached their writing process.

           So think about it.  Think about using photography in some unique way in your classroom. And if you're lucky enough to live in the St. Louis area and have a pet you love, think about booking a session with Maureen---she loves animals and she loves her craft.  (And who's a good dog in our house?  Annie, who unlike Foley, would not think of getting up on the couch, is a good dog and since she's 14, is the old girl in the house.)

            

          

Teaching is a Mission...

          Although I adore my job, can't imagine doing anything else, get energized by my students every day...teaching is a tough job.  It saps everything out of you; I am lucky my couch is just a few feet from my front door, because there are evenings when I barely make it that far.

        Earlier today I was talking to my best friend and former teaching partner.  She was talking about the difference between "fix" and "help" and "serve."  When you "fix" a student or a friend, that implies they are broken.  When you "help" them, that implies there is a deficit; the helper is superior and the helpee is inferior.  When you serve, all of your strengths and experiences and weaknesses come into play.  It is a harmonious pairing.

       Teachers serve.  We're on a mission.  (To quote from the movie The Blues Brothers, "We're on a mission from God."  Teaching is part religion/spirit/faith...) If teachers make the sacrifices and put in the extra hours for some monetary reward, please find another profession.  Students need us to bring our best game to the classroom every day.  

       I was looking on another blog, and saw this book cited.  Since I still have a few weeks before meetings and "Meet the Teacher" night, I thought I might check this one out.  From the description, there are lots of ways to ramp up student learning.  

        If anyone has read this book, I'd love to hear your opinion of it.

        Savor the summer while it's still here...