My sister and mom have both inspired me in the last week to keep writing my blog! So while I don't feel like I have anything super insightful or wise that I've learned through teaching this last week, I'm going to write for the sake of writing because I think it's always a good idea to think outside my brain and see what I've learned that maybe I haven't even realized.
I went for a few days without a quote of the week last week, and it really bugged some of my students. I put up a new one, and it's cool to see the kids actually want to know what they mean. Sometimes we talk about the quote for a minute or two. This week's quote was, "Every man dies. Not every mean really lives," by William Wallace. One student said, "Then why are we in school?" I said that many people say college is one of the greatest experiences of their lives and you need high school to go to college and then do all the wonderful things that you'll be able to do with your lives after that. He actually nodded in agreement.
I've been reading up on Kermit Gosnell a lot this week and his trial. If you don't know who he is, you should Google him... Not that I want anyone to have to know about the terrible things he's done, but it's really made me think about what's right and what's wrong. I was thinking about both sides of the whole abortion issue and exactly where I fall. Do I think it's ever okay in any circumstances? Are there any acceptable limits? Should abortion be a choice that is just up to women or 14-year old girls who don't even know what their frontal lobe is, much less have one developed enough to think of all the possibilities and life beyond their narrow scope? I came to the conclusion that the problem isn't which side of the abortion issue you're on. The problem is that there are sides of the abortion issue in the first place. I understand that there are times in life when killing is necessary. War, justice, defense... I don't think it's ever okay to murder a baby because it will interrupt your life or plans. I can understand tragic circumstances where a life is at stake, but it breaks my heart to think of all lives that have been ended because our culture has sides in the abortion issue instead of just holding the miracle of life in awe. I don't know what to do other than pray about it.
There are only about 4 weeks left of school. We have a school wide BBQ on Wednesday! That means I only have to dress up 3 days next week : ) I'm really proud of some of my students who are stepping up and putting in extra work to bring their grades up at the end of the semester. I'm trying my best to be supportive, realistic, and motivational while dealing with feelings of annoyance that I'm giving up so much of my personal time when they could have worked harder earlier in the semester. That aside, I'm glad they care and are putting in the time now. Better late than never!
It has been difficult telling students that there is no way they can get a C. How do you tell a kid that his best attainable goal is a D+... It's also hard to see a student get a B on a test for the first time all semester after putting in lots of extra study time only to see his grade go from a 49% to a 51%. If I were him, I would feel defeated that my hard work did so little... On the other side of things, It's awesome to see the student I talked about last week in my blog go from a 30something% to now having a solid C. A girl got in trouble for using her iPad during a test two weeks ago. She started crying when I took her test away and made her start over from scratch. That opened up an opportunity for me to talk to her about what happened. She ended up spending her study halls for the next week with me doing some extra studying, and after retaking that test, she's passing Geometry now.
Teaching is so exhausting because it holds so much more responsibility than so many other jobs. That's what makes it so different. I understand that other jobs are stressful and other jobs have deadlines and demanding clients or bosses, but when you're a teacher, you're in charge of lives and futures. It's overwhelming to think about. I have to constantly remind myself that God cares too much about lives and futures of every individual student to put them in the wrong class or with the wrong teacher or in the wrong situation. It's all for a reason and all I can do is love and give my best for each of them. I imagine police officers feel the same way. I bet judges and lawyers have similar experiences also.
I went for a few days without a quote of the week last week, and it really bugged some of my students. I put up a new one, and it's cool to see the kids actually want to know what they mean. Sometimes we talk about the quote for a minute or two. This week's quote was, "Every man dies. Not every mean really lives," by William Wallace. One student said, "Then why are we in school?" I said that many people say college is one of the greatest experiences of their lives and you need high school to go to college and then do all the wonderful things that you'll be able to do with your lives after that. He actually nodded in agreement.
I've been reading up on Kermit Gosnell a lot this week and his trial. If you don't know who he is, you should Google him... Not that I want anyone to have to know about the terrible things he's done, but it's really made me think about what's right and what's wrong. I was thinking about both sides of the whole abortion issue and exactly where I fall. Do I think it's ever okay in any circumstances? Are there any acceptable limits? Should abortion be a choice that is just up to women or 14-year old girls who don't even know what their frontal lobe is, much less have one developed enough to think of all the possibilities and life beyond their narrow scope? I came to the conclusion that the problem isn't which side of the abortion issue you're on. The problem is that there are sides of the abortion issue in the first place. I understand that there are times in life when killing is necessary. War, justice, defense... I don't think it's ever okay to murder a baby because it will interrupt your life or plans. I can understand tragic circumstances where a life is at stake, but it breaks my heart to think of all lives that have been ended because our culture has sides in the abortion issue instead of just holding the miracle of life in awe. I don't know what to do other than pray about it.
There are only about 4 weeks left of school. We have a school wide BBQ on Wednesday! That means I only have to dress up 3 days next week : ) I'm really proud of some of my students who are stepping up and putting in extra work to bring their grades up at the end of the semester. I'm trying my best to be supportive, realistic, and motivational while dealing with feelings of annoyance that I'm giving up so much of my personal time when they could have worked harder earlier in the semester. That aside, I'm glad they care and are putting in the time now. Better late than never!
It has been difficult telling students that there is no way they can get a C. How do you tell a kid that his best attainable goal is a D+... It's also hard to see a student get a B on a test for the first time all semester after putting in lots of extra study time only to see his grade go from a 49% to a 51%. If I were him, I would feel defeated that my hard work did so little... On the other side of things, It's awesome to see the student I talked about last week in my blog go from a 30something% to now having a solid C. A girl got in trouble for using her iPad during a test two weeks ago. She started crying when I took her test away and made her start over from scratch. That opened up an opportunity for me to talk to her about what happened. She ended up spending her study halls for the next week with me doing some extra studying, and after retaking that test, she's passing Geometry now.
Teaching is so exhausting because it holds so much more responsibility than so many other jobs. That's what makes it so different. I understand that other jobs are stressful and other jobs have deadlines and demanding clients or bosses, but when you're a teacher, you're in charge of lives and futures. It's overwhelming to think about. I have to constantly remind myself that God cares too much about lives and futures of every individual student to put them in the wrong class or with the wrong teacher or in the wrong situation. It's all for a reason and all I can do is love and give my best for each of them. I imagine police officers feel the same way. I bet judges and lawyers have similar experiences also.
Hmm...you know I love when you blog b/c I love you and it is a good chance to hear what is on your mind and heart.
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