Miss K
So, I am officially Miss K. I'm really starting to connect with the kids. It's a really great experience, and it's TOTALLY different than what I remember. It's a completely different experience.
Mr. Dunning and I are two of three white people in the classroom. I'm shorter than about 65% of the kids in my class (and some of them were born in 1997!). Two of them are quiet, and 34 of them are loud. About five of them can stay on task for more than five minutes, and about 31 of them can't.
Today there were two fights in the classroom, and one boy even said the "f" word to someone, and I wasn't even overwhelmed. I know these kids, and I know the kids that they like, and the kids that they don't like. I know that when Xiever told Dale to "spot up," he wasn't trying to be disrespectful to me or Mr. Dunning. He lost control, but as soon as regains control, he's just a twelve year old boy again who wants nothing more than to get through the day so he can go home and play video games.
These kids are living completely different lives than I did (and still do), and there are very few things about their experiences that I can relate to, but the one thing I can relate to is being a kid. They may have seen terrible things, heard hurtful words, and felt painful feelings, but in the end, they still find comfort in passing notes, talking about their favorite movies, laughing at the sound across the room that sounds like a fart, and impressing their friends with their cool clothes, shoes, and attitudes.
I'm so relieved that I'm not scared of them. I'm so relieved that I just realized today that getting detention and losing control doesn't have to prevent a kid from graduating. I'm so glad that they can just be themselves, get in trouble, and try to move on.
Mr. Dunning and I are two of three white people in the classroom. I'm shorter than about 65% of the kids in my class (and some of them were born in 1997!). Two of them are quiet, and 34 of them are loud. About five of them can stay on task for more than five minutes, and about 31 of them can't.
Today there were two fights in the classroom, and one boy even said the "f" word to someone, and I wasn't even overwhelmed. I know these kids, and I know the kids that they like, and the kids that they don't like. I know that when Xiever told Dale to "spot up," he wasn't trying to be disrespectful to me or Mr. Dunning. He lost control, but as soon as regains control, he's just a twelve year old boy again who wants nothing more than to get through the day so he can go home and play video games.
These kids are living completely different lives than I did (and still do), and there are very few things about their experiences that I can relate to, but the one thing I can relate to is being a kid. They may have seen terrible things, heard hurtful words, and felt painful feelings, but in the end, they still find comfort in passing notes, talking about their favorite movies, laughing at the sound across the room that sounds like a fart, and impressing their friends with their cool clothes, shoes, and attitudes.
I'm so relieved that I'm not scared of them. I'm so relieved that I just realized today that getting detention and losing control doesn't have to prevent a kid from graduating. I'm so glad that they can just be themselves, get in trouble, and try to move on.