Updates

I know it has been awhile, so here are the updates on how everything is going.

My reading goal is going well. Currently reading Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi. I just started it, but am learning much about the history of the Mississippi River.

The boys I was watching, are doing well. The mother's temporary job ended, so I have a new family now (more on that later). My goals for them were reachable, and many were reached. When I left them, the oldest one had graduated from a sippy cup and both boys were eating at the table. They can now both dress themselves (although each day varied on their willingness to do this). The baby was close to walking when I left him (and is now running, I visited a couple days ago). I was very happy with the progress we made. The oldest has mastered most of the social skills he will need for kindergarten in the fall (at least with his brother, friends may be a different situation).

My new family is a challenge in an entirely different way! I am spending 12 hours a week with them and am enjoying learning what they love to do. They recently moved from Congo, so they speak mostly French, mom speaks less English than the kids. Today we read some easy books (on weather and opposites) in both English and French. The oldest (5) enjoyed sharing the French words with me. They love to sing and dance, so I am looking forward to incorporating that into their learning of English. They also have a 3 month old, who is adorable! Honestly, he is a wonderful baby and only cries when hungry or needing a change.

Counselor

I have always known that counselor was one of the many hats teachers wear. But I didn't know how difficult it was until this week. It seems that in our class it was a fourth grade drama production. Some had more of the lead parts in the play where others just had minor aches and pains. A few students chose to remain out of the spotlight (thank goodness), but I think that over half of my class had some sort of ailment, either emotional or physical this week.

I am now confident that I can teach a lesson, deal with some pretty major name calling, comfort a student crying student (because her leg hurts so bad), keep another student (who is on the verge of tears because of her broken finger's pain) calm, and motivate another student who prefers not to do schoolwork all at the same time. With all that accomplished, bring on Illinois State Achievement Testing!!

Recently I viewed the music video for the song "American Ride" sung by Toby Keith. At first it was humorous, but if one takes a closer look, it is really rather sad what our world has turned into. And what is even more sad, is that the children of today are growing up in this world.

To quote the lyrics in the song, the children of this generation are "kids on you tube, learning how to be cool, pays to be a mean girl". It is sad how true this actually is. Why is youtube so popular? Because there are parents and "dad works his can off paying for the good life" who do not have enough time to spend with their children, hence the kids turn to media to get advice on life. This gets out of hand, snowballing quickly into getting high on aerosol cans and dealing with insecurity in their looks and weight. But who can blame them? When their resources show that the majority of women (on television and in the media) are a size 3, that untruth is enough to depress anyone.

So, as teachers we need to try to identify with all the pressure and stress our students are dealing with today. The gap between being too young for things (drugs, sex, suicide) is quickly spiraling downward, and we need to be knowledgeable as teachers. What can we do? Give special attention (whenever possible) to those kids who set themselves apart from the class and might fall between the cracks. Let them know that at least one person cares, encourage him/her and be that reason for them to live.

Animal School

This is an attempt to embed a video into my blog. I have never done this before, but believe this video is worth watching.

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/

O.K., so since it isn't my video, I can't embed it in the manner I thought I could. If you follow the above link, it will bring you right to the page with the video there. This video is a must see for teachers and parents alike.