A post by MEAGAN: Today was a whirlwind of emotions. Here's the rundown.
7:45-8:20 am FRUSTRATED.
This morning I sat in the school library, looking at row after row of bare bookshelves, waiting for the faculty meeting to start. The topic of the meeting: enchiladas. My school's administration has been manipulating our students (who live in one of the poorest districts in Texas) to sell enchilada plate sale tickets for a field trip fundraiser. They promised the kids a trip to Schlitterbahn water park (the hottest, coolest time in Texas the slogan goes), if 85% of them passed the TAKS, the ridiculous state exam. We did not get the 85%, but they are not telling the kids about the NO GO to Schlitterbahn. Because they want the kids to sell more tickets. Now there is a new rule. If you don't sell all five tickets, you don't go on the field trip. I introduced the WILD idea that maybe the kids didn't all have money for the tickets. After all, some of my students are classified as homeless. Their neighbors are homeless. How could they sell enchilada plates? My principal replied that "these kids have money" and "some of those trailers have direct TV" and many more insulting comments.
8:40-9:00 AMUSED
While I sat proofreading my students' college application essays, Darryn asked me about my taste in music. Darryn is a cool kid that only cares about playing the guitar. Every time I ask him how he's doing he says "I'm bored." In between student-teacher conferences, he'd splatter me with questions. "Miss do you listen to Guns and Roses?...Miss do you like Journey?...Miss have you seen the Wall?" In between all the essays about dads in jail, divorce, lost loved ones, and drugs, it was refreshing.
9:40-10:05 PUMPED
Kim (my English teacher partner) and I planned out the remainder of THE BEST UNIT EVER! We are doing a college unit this six weeks trying to expose the kids to different colleges. Next week they'll make a "Road map to college" where they list the steps they need to take every year to get into college. We're adding some art time and game time to make the road map more interesting. It's rad.
3:00-3:20pm SHOCKED.
So one of my favorite kids got sent to the alternative school today. He's in the West side gang. He brought a knife to school because he wanted to stab another student from a rival gang. I knew he was gang affiliated, that he had been in alternative before, that both his parents are in jail, that he'd been in gang fights this year...but this still shocked me. He is such a sweet kid, really. He wrote me a letter and said, "Before this class I was a bug and now I am like a butterfly." He was practicing similes. He had one of the highest Math scores out of the whole school. And now this. What's going to happen to him? I can't take the idea that he might just end up in jail too.
5:45-6:00pm ELATED
We just heard that we are going to be dorm parents at St. Stephen's next year. That means a cool experience mentoring PLUS free room and board. We also scored a 1 bedroom apartment instead of an efficiency. It's all working out.
8:00pm PROUD
I just checked out the beginning of Matt's amazing documentary of Big Bend. He is the most talented boy in the world. Seriously, he is better at this reality TV/ documentary making than anyone I've seen. Wow.
1 comment:
Hey, ask and you shall receive. Ya know im teaching a sixth grade class for the last month and a half of school and Ive experienced the same thing. Some of these kids are so overwhelmed with their lives thatthey seemto just give up on themselves. There is this one kid, joey, that had a lot of issues and was a real handful for me the first two weeks. However, on Monday I started teaching him how to solve the Rubik's Cube. Now he spends all recesses in class and today he stood in front of the class and solved it in front of everyone. The class erupted in cheer and he was so proud. He is so excited to go home and show his dad. I told him that he was so smart and that he could do anything he wanted if he worked hard at it, like he did with the cube. I think he was really inspired and it made me feel so good.
Oh, and that is so mean to lead those kids on like they're ever gonna get to go to the water park.
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