This conversation is from today with 2 of my new students.
Keilis: Mrs. Joy, Keimari just peed in your trashcan.
Me: What?
Me (to Keimari): Did you just pee in my trashcan?
Keimari: No
Me: I think you're lying.
Keimari: long pause.... YEP.
Me: Keimari, look at my face. Don't ever pee in my trashcan again. Do you understand me?
Keimari: Yes, mam.
Me: If you need to go to the bathroom, use the toilet, not my trashcan.
Keimari: nod
Me: Now go wash your hands.
Keimari: I already did. I used the bathroom for that.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Humbling Experience
I had a mom come in early this week. She had a one page form that needed to be filled out for her son to participate in a new program we're offering. After the "hellos" she said "Mrs. Joy, would you help me fill out this form?"
Seems like a casual encounter, but it has taken a long time to get to this point and I consider it a huge accomplishment. When I first started this job in October, the parents didn't care one bit about me. To them I was another teacher who would probably come and go, but I was offering free tutoring (among other things) to their kids. I learned at my first parent meeting in my first week on the job that I had a LOT of work to do.
Over the past 3 months I have worked to build relationships with these moms as well as their children. The first step was meeting their kids teachers, check one. Then I showed up to the school musical, check two. I've taken kids on field trips, check three. Perhaps the biggest step was the Christmas party and watching parents and kids open gifts they would have otherwise never had, big check four. After Christmas I was still here! Had another parent meeting last week and introduced a new program, "because I care about your kids and I think this will help us all."
Most parents stop in to say "How were they?" "Is she behaving" "Any problems, Mrs. Joy?" It has been my goal to build deeper relationships. I offer medical advice, "Um... take your kid to an eye doctor, she has pink eye." I take kids home when no one shows up to get them. I ask about lives, jobs, opportunities, etc. Sometimes I feel like I'm making no progress at all. Then this mom came in...
You see, she can't read. Until Tuesday, she had never admitted that before. The child's teacher at school didn't know, and here we are sending home notes that this mom can't read. I became skeptical awhile ago, but no one seemed to know for sure. On Tuesday she said "I'll fill out the part I know," and she filled in the name and address. Then there were a series of questions to mark yes or no... I read them to her. Then there was the annual household income question, just circle the category you fall into... she didn't know.
This was a very humbling experience for me. I'm still not sure how much progress I'm making, but at least with this one mom she feels comfortable enough to ask me to read to her. Then I remember exactly why I am here.
Seems like a casual encounter, but it has taken a long time to get to this point and I consider it a huge accomplishment. When I first started this job in October, the parents didn't care one bit about me. To them I was another teacher who would probably come and go, but I was offering free tutoring (among other things) to their kids. I learned at my first parent meeting in my first week on the job that I had a LOT of work to do.
Over the past 3 months I have worked to build relationships with these moms as well as their children. The first step was meeting their kids teachers, check one. Then I showed up to the school musical, check two. I've taken kids on field trips, check three. Perhaps the biggest step was the Christmas party and watching parents and kids open gifts they would have otherwise never had, big check four. After Christmas I was still here! Had another parent meeting last week and introduced a new program, "because I care about your kids and I think this will help us all."
Most parents stop in to say "How were they?" "Is she behaving" "Any problems, Mrs. Joy?" It has been my goal to build deeper relationships. I offer medical advice, "Um... take your kid to an eye doctor, she has pink eye." I take kids home when no one shows up to get them. I ask about lives, jobs, opportunities, etc. Sometimes I feel like I'm making no progress at all. Then this mom came in...
You see, she can't read. Until Tuesday, she had never admitted that before. The child's teacher at school didn't know, and here we are sending home notes that this mom can't read. I became skeptical awhile ago, but no one seemed to know for sure. On Tuesday she said "I'll fill out the part I know," and she filled in the name and address. Then there were a series of questions to mark yes or no... I read them to her. Then there was the annual household income question, just circle the category you fall into... she didn't know.
This was a very humbling experience for me. I'm still not sure how much progress I'm making, but at least with this one mom she feels comfortable enough to ask me to read to her. Then I remember exactly why I am here.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Local Weather Alert
We now interrupt the regularly scheduled program to bring you this important announcement:
NO SCHOOL TOMORROW DUE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES
Okay, I understand in Canada where it might be 40 below, but here in Tennessee it *might* reach zero tonight, so they've gone ahead and cancelled school for tomorrow. It is currently 2:30 in the afternoon and they have already cancelled tomorrow. Here's an actual piece of the weather alert:
TEMPERATURES THIS COLD CAN POSE A NUMBER OF DANGERS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY IT CAN SERIOUSLY AFFECT YOUR HEALTH. EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO BITTER COLD CAN CAUSE FROSTBITE OR HYPOTHERMIA. IF POSSIBLE, STAY INDOORS. IF YOU HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE, LIMIT YOUR TIME IN THE COLD AND BUNDLE UP WITH COAT, CAP, AND GLOVES.
I just can't seem to get my mind around this. The actual forecast says tonight's low is 5 degrees and tomorrow's high is 26 degrees, but it warns the temperatures will not rise above freezing until Saturday.
How do they think Canadians survive? Or for that matter, people in Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, Washington, Montana, and the list goes on! These states don't close down for 6 months out of the year... life goes on.
Here's to the constant adjustment of life in the South!
NO SCHOOL TOMORROW DUE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES
Okay, I understand in Canada where it might be 40 below, but here in Tennessee it *might* reach zero tonight, so they've gone ahead and cancelled school for tomorrow. It is currently 2:30 in the afternoon and they have already cancelled tomorrow. Here's an actual piece of the weather alert:
TEMPERATURES THIS COLD CAN POSE A NUMBER OF DANGERS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY IT CAN SERIOUSLY AFFECT YOUR HEALTH. EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO BITTER COLD CAN CAUSE FROSTBITE OR HYPOTHERMIA. IF POSSIBLE, STAY INDOORS. IF YOU HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE, LIMIT YOUR TIME IN THE COLD AND BUNDLE UP WITH COAT, CAP, AND GLOVES.
I just can't seem to get my mind around this. The actual forecast says tonight's low is 5 degrees and tomorrow's high is 26 degrees, but it warns the temperatures will not rise above freezing until Saturday.
How do they think Canadians survive? Or for that matter, people in Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, Washington, Montana, and the list goes on! These states don't close down for 6 months out of the year... life goes on.
Here's to the constant adjustment of life in the South!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Driving Force
This morning as I was driving to work I was hit with the lyrics of this song:
I don't want to go through the motions
I don't want to go one more day
Without your all-consuming passion inside of me.
I don't want to spend my whole life asking
"What if I had given everything?"
Instead of going through the motions.
It is SO easy for me to go through the motions day-in and day-out. My life is full of procedures and processes. If this happens, then that happens, etc. I haven't been captured by a song in a while, but this one got me today.
What is the driving force in my life? Where is the all-consuming passion inside of me? Jesus is enough, for all of me. Oh, how I long for His passion to overtake me.
I don't want to go through the motions
I don't want to go one more day
Without your all-consuming passion inside of me.
I don't want to spend my whole life asking
"What if I had given everything?"
Instead of going through the motions.
It is SO easy for me to go through the motions day-in and day-out. My life is full of procedures and processes. If this happens, then that happens, etc. I haven't been captured by a song in a while, but this one got me today.
What is the driving force in my life? Where is the all-consuming passion inside of me? Jesus is enough, for all of me. Oh, how I long for His passion to overtake me.
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