I spent a good part of the day today working in my new classroom. After teaching 1st grade for ten years, I am excited to move down the hall to 2nd grade. I was thinking today, that I don’t remember much about my own 1st grade teacher, but what I remember about my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Albright, and that 2nd grade year, helped to shape my life in some important ways.
In second grade I learned to create. My teacher invited an artist to visit our classroom and we got to create all sorts of wonderful things. In second grade I learned that it’s not always wise to pursue what one wants at the moment. I got in trouble when I talked to the girl next to me asking to borrow a silver crayon. I learned that I could do well in spite of bad circumstances when I managed to get good grades on my report card in spite of missing more than 20 days of school due to illnesses including chickenpox and a hospital stay for an appendectomy. I learned about “class” from my 2nd grade teacher who was well travelled and had a certain flair that I had never before noticed in someone I knew. In 2nd grade I learned that the gifts I am given are the ones I am meant to have. My teacher gave us each an Advent calendar as a gift and got upset when we started trading them with one another, and made us give them back to the person that had them to begin with. Mine had a beautiful candle in the center of the picture that was for the 24th…my birthday. I realized eventually that my teacher had cared enough to choose that one especially for me. I still have that Advent calendar, and I still have fond memories of my 2nd grade year.
As I begin to prepare to teach 2nd grade, I am mindful that now, perhaps more than ever, the things that I do and say, or don’t do and say, will have a lasting impact upon my students. I want the room to be just right for them. I want the way I interact with my students to meet their needs. I want my students to feel safe at every level and be happy to come to school each day. I want the lessons to inspire them to love learning, not just to prepare them to pass a test. I want my students to be able to think back when they are 50 and say, “I remember my second grade teacher and 2nd grade was an important year.”
Snowflakes fall as little blessings from the sky,
They pile up,
And up,
Until
NO SCHOOL!!! Yeah!
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year at school. I have some really good books about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims that are illustrated with photos taken at Plimoth Plantation. (I really want to go there!!) The interpretive guides at Plimoth do not at all look like the image of a Pilgrim that has been promoted for at least the past 50 years; black hats with buckles, black and white clothing, buckled shoes. I think it’s safe to assume that the historians at Plimoth know what they’re doing, so I try to bust the myth of the Pilgrims manner of dress. I read that some Puritans dressed the way we envision the Pilgrims, but the people at Plimoth did not. Even so, when we made paper pilgrim hats today one of the boys insisted upon drawing a buckle on his hat.
A couple of weeks ago we read about the Mayflower voyage, then colored a drawing of the famous ship pasted to a background of sea and sky of the kids own creation. I remember a girls several years ago who had drawn a stormy sky with lightening and something else I could not identify hovering close to the ship. When asked, the girl explained that the “something else” was an angel and it was there because people were dying. Ah yes, I’m certain you are right dear girl; surely there were angels on the Mayflower! (Click for photos and information on the Mayflower II voyage in 1957.)
Today we can only imagine, and probably not well at that, the tremendous hardship the Pilgrims suffered on their voyage and during that first winter in the New World. Not all those on the Mayflower travelled for religious reasons; there were some who made the voyage for more or less economic reasons. Whatever the reason a folks found themselves on that ship though, I think they must have had a good amount of faith to have survived. By the end of the first winter about half of the men, women, and children who had made the voyage had died of sickness, starvation, and cold. As I tell my students, “try to imagine 100 people in a space not much bigger than our classroom; no electricity, no toilets, and most everyone is sick to their stomachs or throwing up! What would it smell like?” Sorry, but that alone would do me in. I am obviously not of Pilgrim stock.
I admire and have the greatest respect for those brave souls who sailed on the Mayflower. I think of those mothers who brought their children into the dangerous unknown, and of those mothers who left their children behind hoping to send for them later. As we celebrate now in 2007 at our overstuffed tables in our overly comfortable homes, let us remember the heroes of that first Thanksgiving in 1621.
I have an unexpected day off tomorrow because a student in the school where I teach was diagnosed with MRSA virus (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This is the infection that has been making the news lately because it’s resistant to most antibiotics. The school must be thoroughly cleaned before classes resume on Friday.
Due to HIPPA laws we were not told who the student is or what class he or she is in. That bothers me. I’m fairly certain it’s no one in my room as no students have been absent the past few days. Even still, it bothers me that if it was someone in my room, I would not have the knowledge to know whose desk interior and materials should be cleaned. (As far as I know only the hard outer surfaces around the building will be cleaned.) I understand a right to privacy, but in cases like this it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.
Earlier in the week a mumps epidemic was declared in the school. Epidemic of one person. Apparantly epidemic status is given to even one outbreak of a disease that the majority of the population has been immunized against. I had the disease as a child so personally I’ve nothing to worry about, but WHY and HOW did an immunized child contract this disease?What is going on? I have a lot of questions and those “in the know” don’t really have a lot of answers.
The fact is, this kind of thing happens every day, and worse. I have of course been aware of that on one level. But now the dangers “out there” are right here, and that’s unsettling. Bad things, bizzare things even, can and do happen. Everywhere.
The situation leaves us with choices. We can worry. We can become paranoid of every cough or scrape or bump. We can try at all costs to protect ourselves. We can have faith and trust God to take care of us. There is a balance. We should, I believe, use the wisdom and common sense God has gifted us with to take care of ourselves, but not to the point of paranoia. Fear is useless and obviously not what God wants of us. Why else would the words “do not fear” and “be not afraid” appear so many times in scripture? So the balance is to do what we are able to keep ourselves safe and healthy, and trust God to take care of the rest.
The first full week of school is over and I have two days of , well probably not rest exactly, but at least a change of pace and a little extra sleep. Another two weeks and things will be easier. I will be used to the routine. The kids will have grown up a bit and learned more about how to act in class. We’ll all be used to each other. School won’t be new anymore, just normal.
I learn as much as the kids; I believe every good teacher does. In an effort to bring some peace into my classroom I played Mozart on the CD player most of the morning. The kids liked it and and we were all more peaceful. I think I need to stock up on classical CD’s and keep the music playing. I also realized that my own state of mind has at least as much, if not more, influence on how things go as what the kids do or don’t do. I need to find my place of peace and stay there. The kids want to be where I am, and will join me there if I am patient. Lord, help me.
Change is in the air. Summer is passing and the wind blows in fall even as I write this. Hubby and I sat by the campfire on the back deck this evening and roasted hot dogs and made s’mores. I love the smell of woodsmoke. Whenever the seasons change, I become hopeful for a change in my spirit as well. I need change. I dislike winter, but I remind myself that those daffodil bulbs hiding in the ground will never bloom again unless it gets cold for a while.
Peace to me. Peace to you. Peace to us all. In the name of the Great Peacemaker. Amen.
I need to write. Not just because if I don’t pretty soon all 5 1/2 people who read this blog may just give up and never come back. While that’s a good reason to get going, the real reason is that I need to write for me. Jumping in now…..
Last week I started a new school year. Same school, same room, different kids. This is my 10th year teaching, and it was the most difficult first three days of school that I have ever experienced. By Friday afternoon I was frustrated, tired, and angry with myself for raising my voice too often. I rearranged the seats, trying to seperate the “problem” kids, but there weren’t enough “good” kids to accomplish that goal. I then spent a couple of hours planning for next week. Little wonder I chose to drink something stronger than iced tea by the time I got home.
Monday morning will be here all too soon and I have to go back to my classroom and face the challenges I’ve been presented with. I also have to somehow not let it all get to me. I am all too aware that ineffectively dealing with stress over a number of years was a precursor to my becoming so ill last fall. I don’t know how to do all this. I do know however, that God can bring peace, to my students and to me, in the midst of it all. I think I need to pray now.
That long awaited day of the school year has arrived; the last day. Most kids have been anxious for some time now to start their summer vacation. What they don’t realize is that we teachers are just as excited at the prospect. About mid-to-late April you can sense a shift in the kids attention, effort, and attitude. By mid-May you start to loose many of them. As May’s end nears you had better be done with assessments because the results will no longer be optimum. I think next year I need to have all my assessments finished by May 15 if at all possible!
A staple of the last day of school is the school-wide awards assembly. The gym is packed with students, staff, parents, and grandparents and long before it’s over you wonder if it will ever end. My major behavior problem, whom I shall call Brandon (not his real name but every Brandon I’ve ever personally known has had issues), was sitting next to me when about half way through the tedious event another of my students finally arrived. There are no chairs left of course, and before I had time to figure out what to do, little Brandon volunteered to sit on my lap. Now this is not something I normally allow, but it seemed the best solution. (I teach first grade so this is not as inappropriate as it may sound.) You’d have thought I gave the kid a new toy, he was so happy. I soon realized that this situation was an opportunity that God had blessed me with on the final day with this child. Of all my students, this is the child that most needs an opportunity to sit on somebody’s lap. As Brandon sat there I prayed for him and treated him for those moments as though he were my own little boy sitting with mommy. I prayed for God to pour His love into this child and that Brandon would remember, not that moment or who he was with, but just the feeling of being very loved.
After the assembly we returned to our classroom where I handed out the classroom awards to each student. I make these awards up myself by prayerfully reflecting on what I see in each of my students, whether it be a particular academic gift or a great smile. Their faces light up as I tell them why I chose for them the award they are receiving. I have always felt that this is an opportunity to speak into their young lives in a special way. One little guy, David, got an award for “dependability”. Later in the day I asked him to take something to another teacher for me. He grinned and said, “You asked me because I’m dependable!” I have a feeling that he will become even more dependable as he remembers his special award.
Lord,
These children are precious to you. Keep them in your loving care.
Thank you for bringing them to my classroom this year. Bring those kids who need me, and whom I need, to my classroom next year.
Renew and refresh me during the next weeks, Great Teacher, that I may be ready to start all over again come August.
Amen.
I have survived the first three days back at work, so I think I’ll be ok! I’m glad it turned out to be a short week with no school Monday and Tuesday, plus we were on one hour delay (to let the busses warm up in the sub zero weather I assume) both Thursday and Friday. I’m not sure I would have made it the whole week otherwise. Every day will get less exhausting though as I get back into the regular routine, and hopefully I won’t need to stay and work until 7:30 pm as I did on Friday. A new student had joined the class in December and turned out to be fairly on track academically but poorly behaved. I feel sorry for the girl, coming from a very bad home situation, but I can’t say I’m sorry that she is moving to another school district this weekend.
It’s a strange feeling to be back in the classroom after being gone for so long. Everything continued without me, and I feel disoriented jumping in again in the middle of the year. With God’s help I can do this.
So many things have changed since going through what I’ve been through. I’m eating better and taking all kinds of supplements, and keeping in mind that I must get enough rest even in the busy-ness of my regular schedule. I’m determined to get healthier physically, emotionally, and spiritually than I have been in a long, long time.I place more value on myself in a way. I mean, I was always ready to put my own needs and desires aside to meet the needs of my family and the demands of my job. Not that this is all bad but I often would do this to my own detriment, either emotionally or physically. The first few days of my illness thought I was finished, my light about to go out, and in the process I found out that I’m more valuable than I will usually allow myself to acknowledge.
I sense changes in many areas of my life that I can’t articulate yet. I do know though that I have been given a gift; a chance to seek change, and the opportunity to walk out the rest of my life differently than I had ever considered. Exactly what this means will become clear in time. I pray that I will be able to keep walking in the changes and that I will hang on this new hope that has welled up in me over the past weeks. Help me dear Jesus. Yes, I can do this.
I was having a conversation today with my first graders about practicing. We talked about how much we have to practice to get good at something, like reading for instance. I related that I learned how to knit this summer, and that I had to practice all summer before I got good at it. (I learned to knit from women at church involved in the Prayer Shawl Ministry.) One student asked what I made and I explained that I made a little blanket that will be given to someone who is sick or maybe in the hospital. Then a boy, Oscar, asked if I could make one for his baby brother. I asked if his brother was sick and he replied, “he’s dead”. I hesitated, not quite knowing what to say. Oscar then explained that he would put the little blanket on baby brother’s gravestone.
Whew! I felt the tears welling up at that point. I’ll be shopping for baby blue yarn this weekend. Enough yarn for a little baby sized grave blanket, and for one a bit larger that big brother can snuggle up with and remember the baby brother that never had a chance to grow up.
I have a little boy in my class, I’ll call him Brandon, who from the beginning has pretty much refused to do any school work. He dawdles, plays with his pencil and anything else he can get his hands on, talks to the kid seated next to him, makes noises, and stares into space. He can even manage to look like he’s working and do absolutely nothing. He acts like he doesn’t care if he has to miss recess and will tell me he didn’t want to play anyway. He doesn’t respond to my kindness or my sternness. He obviously doesn’t like it when I send him to the principal’s office, but even that does not cause him to change his behavior. I’ve talked to Brandon’s mom several times in the past week and a half, but nothing she’s done at home has had an impact either. Brandon tells me that he is smarter than anyone in the class. He tells me that he doesn’t need to go to school because his grandpa taught him to shoot a (BB) gun and to throw knives.
Little Brandon obviously has some issues. For starters, he feels a need to be in control. Turns out mom is having a baby and he’s afraid she won’t love him anymore. There are many reasons this kid acts as he does and I’m just beginning to figure out why and what to do to help him. This situation has me thinking though: Perhaps we look to God just like little Brandon looks to me. We want to be in control. We want to do what we want to do. We make excuses for our sin. We act like we don’t care, or don’t even notice, the consequences of our actions. We have no fear, even of the ultimate authority. We know enough. May God have mercy on us all and set us free.
It Takes FAITH to Live
I have an unexpected day off tomorrow because a student in the school where I teach was diagnosed with MRSA virus (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This is the infection that has been making the news lately because it’s resistant to most antibiotics. The school must be thoroughly cleaned before classes resume on Friday.
Due to HIPPA laws we were not told who the student is or what class he or she is in. That bothers me. I’m fairly certain it’s no one in my room as no students have been absent the past few days. Even still, it bothers me that if it was someone in my room, I would not have the knowledge to know whose desk interior and materials should be cleaned. (As far as I know only the hard outer surfaces around the building will be cleaned.) I understand a right to privacy, but in cases like this it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.
Earlier in the week a mumps epidemic was declared in the school. Epidemic of one person. Apparantly epidemic status is given to even one outbreak of a disease that the majority of the population has been immunized against. I had the disease as a child so personally I’ve nothing to worry about, but WHY and HOW did an immunized child contract this disease?What is going on? I have a lot of questions and those “in the know” don’t really have a lot of answers.
The fact is, this kind of thing happens every day, and worse. I have of course been aware of that on one level. But now the dangers “out there” are right here, and that’s unsettling. Bad things, bizzare things even, can and do happen. Everywhere.
The situation leaves us with choices. We can worry. We can become paranoid of every cough or scrape or bump. We can try at all costs to protect ourselves. We can have faith and trust God to take care of us. There is a balance. We should, I believe, use the wisdom and common sense God has gifted us with to take care of ourselves, but not to the point of paranoia. Fear is useless and obviously not what God wants of us. Why else would the words “do not fear” and “be not afraid” appear so many times in scripture? So the balance is to do what we are able to keep ourselves safe and healthy, and trust God to take care of the rest.