Back to School

Posted August 11, 2009 By Andrea and has no comments yet.

I remember going back to school each year. The nervousness that my first day outfit wouldn’t be cool enough (it never was) or that I wouldn’t have any friends in my classes (sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t). Whatever year it was, it was usually THE biggest thing going on in my life at that moment. That first few days sets the mood and can make or break your spirit. While children can be the kindest and most open of souls they also have the uncanny ability to pick up traits in an instant or learn the “adult way” far too early. The rejection that can penetrate through your entire being when someone acts like a seat is already taken or they choose to talk to the person on their other side and completely ignore you. Is it because of that outfit you chose? Your hairstyle? Smell? Simply because you are not popular?

As I sit here I pray fervently for those kids that feel that this week is the biggest in their lives so far. Those kids that might feel they have already been or are on the verge of being rejected. I pray that as a parent and an elder (in a respect sense, not that I am old and wise- yet), I encourage kids to be open and not be dismissive or sectarian. Last year in the neighboring school system a young boy of eleven, Jaheem Herrera, took his own life because of taunts and bullying at school. As an eleven year old he already felt so hopeless and dejected that he hung himself after getting home from school.

Please remind your kids (or any young one that you may have influence over) to smile at everyone, say hello to the new kid, and be open to the uncool kids that their friends might be ignoring. In the life of a child one person CAN make a difference. ONE person can show the love of Christ and change a day or a lifetime. Our words and our influence is real. Perhaps Jaheem would not have felt so lost.

I may not be a teacher anymore but I’ve seen the faces, and I remember well my own. Many of us as adults still struggle with the fears and rejections we had as children. I was never in the “right” socioeconomic class, so in turn that led to me not having the right things. Thankfully, I was in a place where some kids didn’t care about those things. But what if I wasn’t? Where would I be, or what I be dealing with, today? Let’s be proactive and not reactive in the lives of not only our own children but those around us. Pray, be an influencer. And remember that everyone is whole and loved by a great God.

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Categories: Education, Relationships
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God really does rock

Posted October 23, 2008 By Andrea and has 4 comments.

Amen and amen. So, before all this wedding craziness began I think you could ask anyone who knew me and they would say that I was bored, or that I felt my life was lacking impact since I quit teaching. I did not really know which way to turn or what to do. It was like this winding road where all of these ideas were popping up, but none of them really had the potential of panning out.

Tonight I think I found a way of impacting students, being able to encourage and make an impact, without working for the public school system. Okay…so I still work part time for the public school system now, but that is beside the point!

I found…..dun dun dun…. Are you ready for this?

Night School!

This is where people who are taking their own initiative to learn go. People from various countries and walks of life who all want the same thing- to learn English and learn about the American culture. It was wonderful. As I sat in the classroom my heart was actually beating faster. And I knew, in a real way, that I will always have a heart for people who are coming to this country seeking a better life. That no matter what people have to say I will never support armed border patrol. That the difference between them and me is nothing other than the luck of the draw of where we were born. And that if our forefathers had thought it startling to enter a strange new world without filling out the proper paperwork they sure didn’t show it. (I am sure the Natives WOULD have had paperwork if they knew what was coming). I know that our country is in economically difficult times. I know that jobs are needed everywhere, and I know that citizens need jobs just as much as the immigrant. But what if for one minute we took away greed, we put to place fair wages, and we gave all who should earn disability or social security the right to have that and be able to live on it. Would there really be a problem? Or is the problem the way our system has taught us to operate? The jobs that are being eliminated that could be replaced with better ones. The companies that could ramp up the stakes rather than shutting doors. Can we say “go green” Ford Motors? Perhaps then we would see real change taking place. Until then though, God is taking care of me. And giving me the chance to show others that even a white girl from the South can say I love you no matter what, I accept you no matter where you’re from. There are more than they realize out there, I know, and I know some of you wonderful people, but they don’t always see it, and they don’t always feel it. So, I am going to try to spread the love. Hopefully in night school.
:)

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Categories: Education, Personal, Spiritual Reflections
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The school year begins

Posted August 11, 2008 By Andrea and has 1 comment.

Normally I would be asleep right now, or at least lying in bed looking at the ceiling in anticipation of tomorrow. The first day of school. But this year is a little different. This year I will not be going back to the small ESOL room filled with students who are speaking in 3 different languages or some broken or wonderfully improving English. It is always amusing to see which students will emerge as the loud ones, the one that talks back, or my favorite, the funny one. Sometimes you cannot help but laugh even if the joke is directed at you.

So, this year it was not meant to be. For reasons I have already lamented, but further am boggled by. My former employer, we’ll call them public school system X, did not consider the big picture or the best interests of everyone when they made the decision to drastically reduce the funding for ESOL programs. I understand that there is a highly politicized climate that tends to not favor immigrants in our area, but to that I would say yet again, is it really our job to punish children who have no choice in coming here? Our constitution lays out education for all students, regardless of legal status . I think anyone who looks closely would see that if chances are not being given to the students, then education cannot take place, even if it is being “provided.” But again I digress. When we start to see the face of Jesus in every face, and start to realize what we are saying about them, we are saying about Him, maybe we can unite as a body that loves, cares, tutors, feeds, teaches, and hugs. Everyone likes hugs! Well, I guess I should say that even if someone feels uncomfortable receiving a hug, they still think, wow, someone cares. I care. So I am sad. Because I don’t know how to anymore without this job. It wasn’t just a job but I know I can do more than what it allowed me to do……Are you there God? It’s me Andrea.

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Categories: Education, Random, Social Justice, Spiritual Reflections
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