Usually, the weeks seem to fly by. However, this week felt fairly long. When I look back at my week, it was a long week. Tuesday the students didn't have school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences; which meant that my responsibility at school was from 10:00am-7:00pm. Then, Thursday, my classroom was observed for the fourth time. (It's pretty exciting and scary all at the same time.) And Friday, well, it was a long overdue Friday.
One of the biggest experiences I had was being part of Parent/Teacher conferences. It felt odd being on the other side of the desk, but it was definitely exciting. In these conferences, I had the upper hand because I spoke Spanish. About 18 of the 29 families only spoke Spanish and being able to communicate in their language encouraged parents to ask specific questions about their student's progress. (Usually what happens is the school has translators available for teachers who request them ahead of time.) Honestly, it was great to see so many parents involved! Only 2 families didn't show up for conferences, which is a really good turnout for a community like the one I'm in. My school requires teachers to sign a contract between themselves, the student and the parent. It's a pact that each party will do their best to help the student strive at school. Standard 9 states, "The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession. " I had the opportunity to interact with parents who wanted their students to raise grades or become more organized. Spending a few minutes with parents planning how to improve their student's performance was one of the best ways to build rapport with parents because they had the chance to see that I too was committed in seeing the improvement of our student.
Thursday was the fourth time my College Supervisor came to observe the class. I always like to tell the students that she's coming to see how well they're learning in addition to how I'm teaching. They are always excited to see her. (I'm surprised they haven't talked more to her. They usually ask tons of questions about her!) This time she came during Social Studies. The students were learning about using graphs and analyzing information in order to answer questions. How many 5th graders that you know would be thrilled to learn about this? Not many. However, my students were engaged and excited about the learning activity. It was one of those days in which being a teacher is very rewarding. My college supervisor asked me, "Is this the population you can see yourself working with?" In that moment, I had to think, hard. Were all the hard days, tears, frustrations, and discipline worth 45 minutes of pure learning and comprehension? It wasn't an easy answer to give. So I slept on it.
My answer came on Friday. A group of my kids got into fights with each other during gym, lunch and recess. During instructional time, all I got was attitude and defiance. No matter what I said, how many times I asked them to stop talking, no matter how many points I took away the tension in the room was unbearable. I had to step out. I had to pass the class to my cooperating teacher. I just couldn't do it. All I wanted to do was cry. Then, Dr. Meyer's question came to mind, "How is God leading your decision making?" If it weren't for God's calling in my life, I wouldn't be there. If it weren't for the ability to speak Spanish well, I wouldn't be there. He reminded me that all creation is made in His image. He reminded me that there can't be any rainbows without the rain. He reminded me that He was in control and all I had to do was call upon Him. Upon return to the classroom, I told the students that every decision they made had a result; whether it be a positive one, or a negative one. I told them they had to be responsible for the decisions they made. It wasn't fair that they yelled at me for the consequence they received. They sat, silently avoiding eye contact with me. It was already the end of the day when I told them that I understood it was a rough day, but they had to understand that, that was the end of the week. Come Monday morning, I wanted a fresh start. I wanted all the Marine Biologists, Scientists, Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Businessmen, Nurses, and Veterinarians to have the chance to learn not be distracted. I received a unanimous, "Yes, Miss Sanchez."
So my response is Yes. These kids, this community is "Mi Raza, My People." Yes, it's filled with trial, but it's also filled with reward. Yes, it's going to be hard, but with God as my Shepard and His Holy Spirit as my guide, I can do all things.
WOW! If I could say that "mi raza" are "YOUR CALLING" in Spanish, I would. You are being called by them and by God to serve in the classroom. You are being called to "bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives ....to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." You did this when you called them "nurses, teachers, businessmen," etc. You gave them hope that each new day, they get to make a new choice. The past is the past and we start all over again. So on Monday, greet each student at the door with a handshake and a smile and say, "Good morning, it's going to be a good day." or "Good morning, I'm glad you are here!"
ReplyDeleteYou had 29 5th Spanish students all engaged for 45 minutes on reading a matrix chart in a game. It can be accomplished. On Monday, let's see if the students can focus for one hour. Then reflect on what you did to get them at that point.
Another idea is to create a sanctuary where the outside world is not allowed. They, too, must leave all their troubles at the door because inside the room they are STUDENTS with a bright future.
God bless you, Jackie. Keep it up! You have the gift and are using it to the glory of God!