My cousin Amber sent me this link to a really nice article about the Heroes of Today, referring to teachers. I don't know if I'd ever think of myself as a hero, but it's a nice article. It's nice to know that teachers are appreciated. And I didn't realize that even with our summer vacation, we work more hours in 9 months than the 40-hour work week people do. But I'm not surprised. I will save this info for the next time I meet someone and they make an obnoxious comment about me having the summer off. My friends are all awesome and respect my job, but there are still people out there who have no idea how hard teachers work. This is definitely not to say that other professions don't work hard, too. I think everyone should get the summer off! There are definitely jobs out there that are a lot more stressful than teaching.
I had a really sweet teaching moment last week. I have this student, A., who is very difficult. He's been a behavior problem since, well, forever. He's the one who brought a knife to school, and I have my small group praying for him all the time. Last week his grandma showed up to ask about his report card, since he never brought one home. As usual, it was all D's and F's. But she told me she doesn't understand why he's doing so poorly when I care about him so much. She said, "A. tells me how much you care about him. He says, 'Grandma, I know Ms. B's got my back. She really cares about me doing my work and wants me to do well. She even has lunch with me every week. And she told me that she likes me, and that even though I do bad things, no matter what I do, she will still like me.'" To hear that he quoted me like that and knowing that he understands how much I care is just so awesome. But then I think, why isn't it working??? According to all the research, that's what's supposed to motivate kids, and he's still not doing his work. My mom reminded me the other day that true transformation takes time, and she's right. But that upsets me even more because we don't have time. I've seen a huge difference in his behavior. I think he's not doing his work because he's afraid of failing. (He's behind because he missed a whole year of school. His dad was in prison, and his mom wouldn't take him to school.) If I had more time, I could continue to build the relationship, and I bet he'd start doing his work. But there's only like, 6 weeks of school left. I think I'm going to write a note to his next teacher and have his grandma deliver it. I don't know what I'll say yet, but they need to know that he just needs love. And a male mentor, which we're trying to get for him. I'm going to miss this kid so much!
I had a really sweet teaching moment last week. I have this student, A., who is very difficult. He's been a behavior problem since, well, forever. He's the one who brought a knife to school, and I have my small group praying for him all the time. Last week his grandma showed up to ask about his report card, since he never brought one home. As usual, it was all D's and F's. But she told me she doesn't understand why he's doing so poorly when I care about him so much. She said, "A. tells me how much you care about him. He says, 'Grandma, I know Ms. B's got my back. She really cares about me doing my work and wants me to do well. She even has lunch with me every week. And she told me that she likes me, and that even though I do bad things, no matter what I do, she will still like me.'" To hear that he quoted me like that and knowing that he understands how much I care is just so awesome. But then I think, why isn't it working??? According to all the research, that's what's supposed to motivate kids, and he's still not doing his work. My mom reminded me the other day that true transformation takes time, and she's right. But that upsets me even more because we don't have time. I've seen a huge difference in his behavior. I think he's not doing his work because he's afraid of failing. (He's behind because he missed a whole year of school. His dad was in prison, and his mom wouldn't take him to school.) If I had more time, I could continue to build the relationship, and I bet he'd start doing his work. But there's only like, 6 weeks of school left. I think I'm going to write a note to his next teacher and have his grandma deliver it. I don't know what I'll say yet, but they need to know that he just needs love. And a male mentor, which we're trying to get for him. I'm going to miss this kid so much!
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