Cause I Ain't Got a Pencil

A fellow colleague shared this poem with me and I absolutely loved it.  I shared this with our staff during inservice training. This piece is a great example of what some of our students deal with on a daily basis as they get ready for school. We have no clue what they go through just to get to school.

Some of our students have to get their siblings ready for school, wake themselves up, wash their clothes, get to the bus location in time to catch the bus.

When they get to school, they get to eat a good breakfast because they have no food in the pantry.

Even though, they did all this stuff to get ready, they forget their backpack at home. They have no pencil. Because they have no pencil, they are not prepared for class. The teacher fusses at him because he did not come to class prepared.

You know the rules. You better bring a pencil to class. You need to go to the office because you are not prepared for my class.

Have you ever seen this before?

Unfortunately, I have. We need to remember we do not know what our students home lives are like. We have no idea what they had to go through just to get to school on time.

Every Child Has A Story

I was reminded today as I drove a student home about something we often forget. This child reminded me that every student has a story. We get so caught up with teaching that we forget listening is just as important.

As I brought this student home, I listened to his story. He told about his summer. I asked him about how the school year has gone so far. I started the conversation very slowly. He started to warm up and tell me about his family life. He told me about his cat. He also told me about his mom and something she is struggling with.

When everything slowed down, I sat down to reflect about the day and wondered something. Would I have found this important information out if I would not have brought him home? I wonder if any of my staff would find out this information about him.

As a new school year begins, it is important to get to know our students. We need to know how many brothers and sisters they have. Do they live with their grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles? What do they struggle with? What are their strengths? weaknesses? What are their hobbies? What is their favorite subject? What is their least favorite subject? How do they learn the best? Or they visual learners? auditory? etc.

How can we help our students if we do not know anything about them? It is about relationships. I enjoyed the 20 minutes in the car with the student. It put things in perspective for me.

We need to know what makes them tick.

I thank my lucky stars that the mom did not pick up. I would have missed out on this opportunity to get to know this kid. Take advantage of teaching moments.

Beginning of the School Year Thoughts to Teachers & Staff

Teachers and staff,

The new year is upon us. It has happened so quickly. You are about to meet new students, and welcome new opportunities. How exciting is that! 

You are about to meet children who need you more than you can ever imagine. You do not know what their summer has been like. Most of our students probably did not go on any type of vacation or get out of Sour Lake this summer. 

The child that you are about to meet has failed more times than they have succeed. They try hard, but never can get there. You are also about to meet a child comes to school so they can get breakfast because they do not have it available at home. They can not wait to get here to get two nutritious meals.  

You are also about to meet a child who needs to be challenged and pushed. They know most of the information you are going to teach them this year. How are we going to challenge them? What are we going to do differently for them to help them not be bored in your class? 

You are about to meet a student who can not make friends. They can not work well with other students, but they need to learn how to work collaboratively. They need your guidance.

Every student is different. This age is so difficult. 

You will have students with different needs, goals, and different past experiences both good and bad. 

You will have an opportunity this year to make a difference. We have 36 weeks with these students. Please do not take this time for granted. 

Children need to feel loved and supported. They need to have a caring adult in their lives. It is so easy to love the lovable. These are the kids who always do right. They make good grades, they answer all the questions in class. Most of the time these students already have someone in their lives who care about them. 

Show all students that you care.