You've Got To...
...aaaaaaccennnnnntuate the positive....eeeeeeelimmmmmminate the negative...The children were miserable today. 1st period apparently spent Friday walking all over my substitute. 6 of them came in late. I ranted. 3rd period was better. But one student with severe ADD (the current medical term for what we used to refer to as "completely squirrelly) was out of control and had to be sat on. Almost literally. I railed. During 5th period, I asked one student to work a problem on the board. He walked out instead. I asked another student to move to a different seat. She walked out too. I ranted and railed.
I'm still in shock that my students this year have the habit of getting up and walking out of the classroom. But, seeing as how it's "Positive Reinforcement Week" here in Blogland, I choose not to focus on these children. Instead, let's talk about Shirley.
Shirley is in my home room. 3 years ago, she was one of those kids I hoped wouldn't show up. She was surly, defiant, and had her own time table. Things got a little better the next year. And even better the next. This year, as a senior, Shirley still has her own time table. But she has become a different person. She's grown up. Today, mid-rant and pre-rail, she came into my room and handed me a cold Pepsi and an unpopped bag of popcorn. She smiled and walked out.
Sometimes there is only one positive thing that happens all day. There are times when that one thing is harder to find than other times. But it's there if we look hard enough. The joy of an omnipresent God is that His ear, His shoulder, His teaching, His love, His Son, His Spirit...they never leave us. He is next to, all around, and deep inside. In times of gloom and general blecchiness (my blog, my words), He is wonderfully inescapable. When my mind is on myself, I think "Where can I go to hide from Thee?" But when I need Him, how my attitude changes. When my mind is on Him, I praise him for being a prayer away.
He's with you right now. Look! There He is! You may as well say hi.
posted by Thurman8er @ 1:38 PM
2 Comments:
There is a song today we were listening to on our way home from a funeral. It was the song called, "Arms of Love." The song is about God holding us near in His arms of love. What an awesome "Abba" we have!
It is the “Shirleys” of the world that make the profession of teaching truly an honorable one. No one knows unless they’ve been in the classroom how surly and downright unpleasant some of our students can be in the face of the patience we try to extend to them. Isn’t it great when God allows you to be part of someone’s transformation for the better.
As a middle school educator, I have standards that I’m charged with teaching and having my students show mastery of those standards. But I know that some of the most important “standards” I impart are those that cause a child to start down the road to being a better person.
iozikwjw (A "dipthongic" glide from "i" to "o.")
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