Category Archives: Education

Sacrificed Pants

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Posted by on in children, distraction issues, Education

October 17, 2016, Prescott- The small boy wasn’t supposed to show today at school.  He is being disciplined, for an infraction, committed before Fall Break.  As that wasn’t clear to him, he came anyway, ready to make amends for what he’d done.

When the truth was made clear, he asked to work off his frustration and anger with a walk up among the rocks on our campus.  Being his designated minder, in this anomalous situation, off the two of us went.  I have wanted to go up among these granite boulders for some time, so the pretext was perfect.

I kept pace with his small frame, clambering among the rocks, and going around one bend or another.  Then, in the last little slide down a long granite slab, I followed my inclinations since boyhood, and tore the bottom of my back pocket, on the rough surface.  No harm came to me, or to my young charge, but I will have to get one pair of work pants to a tailor shop, in a few days’ time.

The little man will, hopefully, serve his days away, and we’ll see how things go, when he returns in earnest, next week.  Meanwhile, the rocks stand guard, and serve this overgrown kid a warning.

Unless and Until-Education

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Posted by on in children, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual

October 4, 2016, Prescott- 

As our little classroom was not the right fit for a troubled child, I have to voice a few thoughts.

Unless and until:

Adult educators consistently place the well-being of children first;

People on a team eschew oneupmanship;

Children are empowered, according to their developmental levels;

Communication across hierarchical levels, and between colleagues, becomes and remains clear and consistent;

Downtime is minimized to almost nothing;

Spiritual (not sectarian) principles are infused into education, so as to strengthen character;

Cooperative learning becomes the norm;

Children are seen as a valid constituency, by elected officials;

Society places education at the highest priority;

We will continue to face repeated and familiar issues, in our collective mirror.

 

No Control

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Posted by on in Education, Striving

September 30, 2016, Prescott-

My immediate supervisor relishes the moments

when she can squash me like an insect.

There is no kind way to say that.

This, but for the children,

the unsettled, often problematic,

confounding, wonderful little souls,

is something of a headache.

It’s for them, alone,

that I will stand my ground.

Those who see only a struggle

to be in control,

have none of their own.

That’s the conundrum.

The children and I,

looking towards the light,

grabbing life with both hands,

have a sense of honour.

I will not let them down.

Charlie Brown’s Teacher

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Posted by on in Education, Personal Values

September 27, 2016, Prescott- I was handed an ad hoc lesson, on Newton’s First 3 Laws of Physics, and told to teach it, just after lunch today.  We watched two videos on the topic, one a simple cartoon and the other, a more detailed, but still well-illustrated, presentation.

Afterward, the discussion portion revealed that the students had grasped the basic points, but had not internalized the sequence of the Laws.  We arrived at the order in which the Laws are considered, by considering Cause and Effect.

Another aspect which was noted was the way that people are resistant to change, the same way that living things tend to seek familiarity and conservation of energy.  In other words,  Sir Isaac Newton viewed us as essentially lazy.

I am waiting for the first kid to cite Newton’s First Law of Physics as a reason for his/her laziness.  My answer, of course, would be that the resulting grades would be subject to the Law of Gravity.

I was struck by the way, though, that the students paid closer attention to my presentation than they often do to the lead teacher, who has herself raised the whole “WAA, WAA. WAA”, heard by the kids in the “Peanuts” series of feature-length cartoons.

It occurs to me that people rise to expectations- something Newton never addressed, but Charles Schulz did.

Someday, When You Understand Me Better

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Posted by on in children, Education, Inner Struggles, Spiritual

September 23, 2016, Prescott- 

My Christian friends,

who are convinced that my belief that all Faiths emanate from One God,

makes me an idolator, a Luciferian:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know the love I have for you,

for Jesus the Christ,

and for all who bring God’s Holy Word.

My fellow educators,

content in your small circles:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know the regard with which I look upon your work.

School administrators:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know that I AM dedicated to the well-being of children,

and recognize that I am not the enemy.

Word Press readers:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will no longer disdain my spiritual writings,

and will realize that I am not out to “convert” anyone,

to my point of view.

The precious children,

who understand me better than do most adults,

already know these things.

They just know.

 

Jealousy

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Posted by on in children, Education

September 16, 2016, Prescott- 

One child, jealous of another getting the attention

that he, himself, had been getting,

just two minutes before,

took off his shoe and tossed it,

in an arc, towards an empty space,

in the back of the room.

He then flung his food bag,

towards yet another child.

The student who was the focus of teacher’s attention

deflected the bag, away from student # 3,

and no harm was done.

Child doing the throwing

now faces a weekend

of confinement to his room.

There is no daylight,

home and school are tight.

Ongoing

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Posted by on in Education, Family, Inner Struggles, Poetry, Social, Striving

September 12, 2016, Prescott-

Meetings tire me,

more than the antics of children.

So, as I sat through the proceedings

in a stuffy second-floor room,

I took in all I needed,

through careful listening.

Then came afternoon.

Cool outside,

stale and debilitating, within.

My thoughts wandered

to the school district clerks,

who will occupy these rooms,

after a renovation next year.

The process is ongoing.

I had a nice time,

at a birthday party last night.

It was a good transition,

from the dark memories of

that day, fifteen years ago.

New friends, and old,

drummed, sang and ate

delectable barbecued meats

and all manner of side dishes.

Friendship and camaraderie are ongoing.

Today is my brother’s birthday.

Far off, in Atlanta, or

somewhere else on business,

he keeps setting the bar high

and setting his employees straight.

Communication is ongoing.

Crash Course or Coarse Crash?

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Posted by on in Community, Education, Inspiration, Social

September 8, 2016, Prescott-  I have been contributing heavily to the classroom’s instructional day- basically running the Social Studies lesson, in a pinch.  Next week, I will be in training for two days, so hopefully the others will not run out of their own ideas.

Random thoughts- Has anyone read Jerzy Kosinski’s “Being There”?  It is a tale of a novice running for President, and being elected.  Sound familiar? My preferred candidate asked a news analyst, “What’s Aleppo?”  I am disappointed.  I knew what Aleppo was, and where it was, when I was 11.  This candidate needs a crash course in geography.  We must not be content to “all go into the garden.”

The people who thought that another candidate would be the poster child for the resurgence of ignorance, are finding out that he senses an actual chance of winning the Presidency, and is thus refining his efforts.  Whether this will work for him is anyone’s guess.  Many feel that a leopard does not change its spots.

I am opposed to people acting out of ignorance. When I have so lapsed, the reaction has been swift and brutal.  Take the time to enlighten yourself, before, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “opening your mouth, and removing all doubt” ,(about being thought a fool).

 

The Sumo Wrestler Cat

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Posted by on in Education, Personal Values, Striving

August 22, 2016, Prescott-  My primary goal, in my present position, is to build trust with my students, while adhering to the guidelines of the program now being used by the school district.

Hearing their stories, with both ears and heart open, is a major component of building trust with anyone.  There is far too much, of people sticking fingers in their ears and mouthing the equivalent of “Nyah, naah, can’t hear you!”  One way of doing this is “That’s not what the program says!”

While I encourage students to follow the program, being in their world is major.  This morning, one of the boys, whom I met at the bus, told me of his weekend, and his mother getting a new kitten, to add to their feline family.  The patriarch, as it happens, is called the Sumo Wrestler Cat, owing to his girth.  SWC tends to keep his distance from the others, and, true to form, is the first one at the food dish.  The kitten will need to learn this pecking order- in which she is last.  The two juvenile female cats have ideas of their own.

Others have less amusing domestic tales, and as kids do, they bring the troubles of home with them into the classroom.  The task of changing mindsets, and letting even the most woebegone know they are loved beyond measure, falls to yours truly.  I think most adults here WANT to be able to show caring for these children, but not getting it returned in kind, wears on those who are themselves needy. On we go, however, and my eternal optimist middle manager sees “incremental progress” being made, already.