Day Fifteen: Thank you

I had a rough weekend. I came in to work this morning with a few things weighing on me. When I walked out of my class I ran into one of the other teachers in the hallway. She asked if I was okay and said I looked like I was sad. And if she could see it, the kids would see it. And if the kids saw it…. So I went back into my room for a few minutes, took a deep breath, and tried again. Time to lose myself in helping my kids.

First period is more of the same. One student has been missing a lot, another is coming but not wanting the work. The rest are content working away at building and painting. I need to teach them some design and technical theatre. I think they'll love it.

Later I had my other classes warm up with Ghosts in the Graveyard, then introduced them to image work. They were slow and unwilling in 2nd period, so I pulled out the dreaded Powerpoint and warned them that we could learn things the fun way, or the boring way. They were groaning five slides or so in and begging me to stop. I did a little more for good measure. Then went on to teach them about image work (kind of like creating human statues). The other classes were more willing and open and actually created a group image , taking turns adding to or replacing other students from the image. One class worked together creating an image of "The Streets" while another did "My House." There is an underlying violence in each of the ideas which is really interesting.

During my 5th period conference, I noticed a student in the hallway I had seen a few minutes earlier and figured that he was wondering around. I popped out and said, "Go to class." He ignored me and kept walking. So I walked along beside him. Then I asked for his name, then to see his ID. Kept walking. So I said I'd just keep walking with him. I asked where his class is. He said I'd find out when he walked in. I kept walking. And smiling. Then he stopped and introduced himself. He apologized and thanked me for the assembly on Friday. He that even though there were other students who did not take it seriously and laughed watching the planes hit the tower, it meant a lot to him. He lost somebody that day. When I asked he said he didn't like to talk about it, but mumbled something about an uncle. My heart broke for him, and I was reminded of how important what we do is. And we may not reach them all, but we can reach someone.