I'm Married for goodness sakes

I have to write about this because I know that I will want to remember this a long time from now and I know it will make me smile when I am feeling down.

I got hit on by a student today. Actually, I was asked to have a bottle of wine with him... moscato to be exact. This was after he asked me if I had ever dated an African American man and he said he'd never dated a white girl. Ummmmm excuse me sir, not only are you 6 years younger than me and I am your teacher but I am MARRIED for goodness sakes!

That being said, I've needed some laughs like this recently because I have been feeling pretty stressed out. There are just a lot of different hands to juggle in this job and it's taking awhile to get the swing of things.

Also, if you could pray for a few things I would appreciate it.

1. My computers that I use on a daily basis have not run properly since I started. This really messes up my daily work.
2. I have one particular class that is just crazy. They don't listen, they don't quiet down, they don't work, they don't care. I'm a little stumped on what to do.

Thanks,
Teach

Scars Have a Story

I have been learning more and more about my students individually and their culture as a whole. It's crazy how many of these kids grew up literally "in the hood". This week we are focusing on writing - one of my favorite things to teach. The curriculum I am required to teach provides writing prompts and today's prompt had to do with emergencies. For some of the students it was hard to think up stories so I began asking them if they had any scars and how they got them. I really started to think about how each scar has a story including the scars on the inside. Some of my students had the craziest stories. Three of them showed me their scars from bullet wounds and one of them began telling me about the scar on his neck from when he was in prison and was stabbed in the neck with a sharpened spoon. Um.... OH MY! I'm a white, English teacher in her mid-twenties - not at all from this background. It sure is opening my eyes to the way that others live and how they grew up. It is pretty sad they had to go through all that and only makes my heart open up more to them. i just want to give them love.
xo,
teach