Week 11 is officially over! It was a really nice week to "go out on" in my current classroom. My host teacher is attaining her national board certification so she has prepared an awesome lesson. The students got to use their social studies skills to "search and rescue" missing people. They were allowed to use maps, google earth, and the internet in order to figure out their clues. It was really cool to watch the students become so engaged in a lesson - not a single one of them was off task for the 2 hours we did this. The students prior to this assignment got to decorate the room as if we were camping out. One of our students who has basically no home life or resources to speak of, came into school with a deer he made out of pencils, a water bottle, a balloon, and spray paint. He was so excited, and he got so much positive reaction from the students it was amazing to see his self-esteem lift right there. Unfortunately, this student had to leave half way throughout the day because he was again infected with lice. I am struggling with this because when I leave school, and when I am in bed at night, all I can think about is my students. I worry whether or not they got to eat dinner, or if someone helped them with their homework, and it kills me that there is nothing I can do about it. My job is to provide them with the knowledge and tools to create a better life for themselves, however I can't help that worry that it will never happen for them. So I guess my question for this week is how do we either help these students, or become numb to their situations?
When you become numb, it's time for a change. I worked in a low-income school for the first 10 years I taught, and when I started to feel helpless and numb, I knew it was time for a change. It's the teachers who don't see this and don't move on who make the mistake. Seeing and admitting it are what causes the impetus for the change.
I ask that all the time...and I believe I posted the same question on my facebook that night. Laura said the same thing to me. It has hard to "leave work at work" when you spend 8 hours a day bonding with these children. Some nights I am so jealous of my husband or others that have jobs that can come home and have their biggest worry be whether they turned off their computer or rememeberd to lock up their tools. Not that each job doesnt have its issues...it just seems this one can really wear at your heart. My highschool teacher asked me to never go into social work because she thought I would end up with 500 children in my home trying to save them all...Some days I am not sure how different teaching is...
Steph - I don't know if the answer is be numb to the situation but to find ways to cope and help kids the best we can. This could happen by developing afterschool programs that focus on academics, hygiene, and life skills needed for kids to succeed in spite of the unfortunate lives they have no control over. I know from experience this has happened in some schools but this needs to happen more in society today. Changing the culture is tough and often frustrating but when you notice small differences in kids lives it all becomes worthwhile. DH
Week 11 is officially over! It was a really nice week to "go out on" in my current classroom. My host teacher is attaining her national board certification so she has prepared an awesome lesson. The students got to use their social studies skills to "search and rescue" missing people. They were allowed to use maps, google earth, and the internet in order to figure out their clues. It was really cool to watch the students become so engaged in a lesson - not a single one of them was off task for the 2 hours we did this. The students prior to this assignment got to decorate the room as if we were camping out. One of our students who has basically no home life or resources to speak of, came into school with a deer he made out of pencils, a water bottle, a balloon, and spray paint. He was so excited, and he got so much positive reaction from the students it was amazing to see his self-esteem lift right there. Unfortunately, this student had to leave half way throughout the day because he was again infected with lice. I am struggling with this because when I leave school, and when I am in bed at night, all I can think about is my students. I worry whether or not they got to eat dinner, or if someone helped them with their homework, and it kills me that there is nothing I can do about it. My job is to provide them with the knowledge and tools to create a better life for themselves, however I can't help that worry that it will never happen for them. So I guess my question for this week is how do we either help these students, or become numb to their situations?
ReplyDeleteWhen you become numb, it's time for a change. I worked in a low-income school for the first 10 years I taught, and when I started to feel helpless and numb, I knew it was time for a change. It's the teachers who don't see this and don't move on who make the mistake. Seeing and admitting it are what causes the impetus for the change.
ReplyDeleteI ask that all the time...and I believe I posted the same question on my facebook that night. Laura said the same thing to me. It has hard to "leave work at work" when you spend 8 hours a day bonding with these children. Some nights I am so jealous of my husband or others that have jobs that can come home and have their biggest worry be whether they turned off their computer or rememeberd to lock up their tools. Not that each job doesnt have its issues...it just seems this one can really wear at your heart. My highschool teacher asked me to never go into social work because she thought I would end up with 500 children in my home trying to save them all...Some days I am not sure how different teaching is...
ReplyDeleteSteph - I don't know if the answer is be numb to the situation but to find ways to cope and help kids the best we can. This could happen by developing afterschool programs that focus on academics, hygiene, and life skills needed for kids to succeed in spite of the unfortunate lives they have no control over. I know from experience this has happened in some schools but this needs to happen more in society today. Changing the culture is tough and often frustrating but when you notice small differences in kids lives it all becomes worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteDH