Sparkly purple shirt and rapping during breakfast?

I've been meaning to write for awhile but things have been extremely busy with trying to learn a new job. It's been very stressful unfortunately and it seems like every day there is another thing to learn or task to do. I am hoping things will settle down a bit in the next few months.

Last week I attendedf a new student breakfast that they do the morning after new students arrive. This happens on a weekly basis as new students come every Tuesday. It sure makes for never a dull moment. Each new student was supposed to introduce themselves and answer a few questions. Almost all the students had gone and this tall, African American dude wearing a shiny purple button down shirt was up. I mean this guys shirt was like bathing suit material. It looked a little like one of my old gymnastics leotards. Did I mention it was purple - bright purple! Anyway, he stands up and starts talking about himself and he busts into this unbelievable rap. This guy is just rapping for about 2 or 3 minutes. His rap was all about time and how we don't have a lot of it and we should take advantage of it. I literally think my mouth was hanging open. It was nothing like I'd seen in any school before.

So much has been happening lately. I am really learning a lot about dealing with this population of students. I worked in a very impoverished school last year but all of my students were caucasian where the students in this school are 90% African American. There are some similarities but I am learning about their culture and way of life. Last year was such a good preparation for my current job - it is evident why God placed me there now.

I have quite a few English Language Learners in my classes. If you don't know what that means it's that English isn't their first language. One student barely speaks any English - others are much better speakers. I have been learning about teaching these students even though I don't have my ELL certification. One of my ELL students is from Sudan. His parents died when he was young and he came to the US by himself when he was 13. He's been pretty guarded about his past but I'm sure his story is amazing.

Well, today was a positive day - my students got VERY into learning about synonyms. I hope that this continues.

xoxo
Teach

"Youz a young teacher, we gonna like you"

I have finished my third day of work and it seems to be going well (a lot better than my last year of teaching)!!

The place that I am working (job corps) is a lot different than a school. There are some things about the system that I can really see as a positive. The rules and consequences are VERY structured and specific and the center really holds to them. There is a GREAT deal of conversation between teachers, counselors and RAs (yes, most students live on center). The communication is AMAZING! I have been reading the daily emails from all instructors highlighting which students did exceptional and which ones needed some help (or consequences). This is really the way schools should be - elementary teachers don't have the need necessarily but in middle and high schools this is so vital. I also love the way the center focuses on praising students and recognizing positives. This is not done enough in schools - especially for students like these.

Yesterday I met the sweetest girl - Erin is from close to area (many students live 2 hours away or more). She was a sophomore who was 18 and they said she was working too slowly to get her GED and kicked her out. She wasn't a "problem" student - just slower. What a dis-service to that girl.

Today I talked to Henry. Henry is 19 and was telling me stories about his scars. Henry's mother was a cocaine addict and he referred to himself as a "crack baby". He was born without a bone or muscle in one of his thumbs and a whole in his heart. The only heart they could replace him with had a broken valve that would need to be replaced by the time he was 18 or he would die. He just had surgery a year ago to fix this but they said he still probably wouldn't live to be 26. Most of these problems would not have happened if his mother wouldn't have selfishly done drugs during pregnancy.

Another student has a 2 year old daughter. It's hard to understand where these students are coming from so I just try to love them and not judge them. In Henry's case it was hard not to get angry at his mother for causing the problems (oh and then abandoning him - which I did not mention).

Love working with kids like this - if someone would have told me the type of students I would be working with I would not have believed them :)

Teach

p.s. students keep saying "youz a young teacher, we gonna like you" ha!

A new job...

Long time no write.

After being laid-off and celebrating the summertime I finally have something to write about. I have just been given a job but not in a conventional school. This will be an interesting year and I promise to update - this time from the beginning. I will be working at a job corp center. The job corp is a program for students who have not been given many opportunities. I will be the reading/literacy teacher. I am still learning a lot about what the job entails and what the job corp is all about. I will update you more on this when my facts are all straight. That being said... I start tomorrow and am nervous!

teach xo