This year has been more than challenging. The year did not start with my enjoying, or for that matter, even LIKING my students. I did not know what I was going to do, but the year was not going to go over well. I took Friday, November 4th off to celebrate my birthday, wound up being sick the entire weekend and went to school not feeling well the following Monday. But on Tuesday, a crazy thing happened: I found myself smiling while sitting at my desk and watching my second period class. I held onto "that" moment for days; THRILLED that I finally appeared to be amused by the same kids I could not stand just days before.
My children have shared some insightful things with me this year, though....
After hearing that I have four cats and would have five, except we lost Ghost in February, they call me the "Crazy Cat Lady" and one students says, "Mrs. Clemens you should be the cat whisperer!" David R. was extremely proud of his comment, and laughed hysterically for about 5 minutes....COMPLETELY disrupting the flow of my lesson....but YET AGAIN....I found this humorous and instead of being annoyed with this disruption, I laughed along with him and the rest of the class.
After teaching the "I before E except AFTER C and in words like weigh and neighbor" rule, I was reviewing my second period class before their weekly test. I asked, "What is the rule we learned this week?" M. Doolittle, one of the funniest kids I have taught, says, "I before E except after C and something about a neighborhood..." I lost it...I was laughing so hard I began crying. He had no idea why I was laughing, but he was glad he could be the "class clown" again....
Another student just wrecks my nerves DAILY. He comes from a very sad home life, that I cannot fully comprehend, but most of the time I cannot register that information anyway because he irritates me so much. He is filthy, unorganized, can vomit on command WITHOUT gagging himself, and attempts to get out of class and leave school by peeing on himself. Needless to say, God was going to have to get my attention before I could change my attitude about this one...
He did just that. While praying one day, I finally began truly thinking about this boy. I was all of the sudden so heartbroken for him. I wasn't praying for him, he was just slipped into my mind. About a week later, I was shopping at Mardel, and literally stumbled into a bookshelf with a book called "Minute Motivations for Teachers". The book lists a quote and then an explanation about a kid/type of kid that would drive teachers crazy, baffle teachers, and wear teachers down. In that same explanation teachers are told how to walk the Christian walk in the situation. There is one entry about love. It simply talks about "that child" who is unlovable and how that is not really the case since God thought "that child" was worth the sacrifice of His own son, Jesus. I have to think about all the things in this kid's life. What causes him to come to me like this everyday? He is a "prisoner of war"--I just have to figure out what that war is...
In one week, there has been a DRASTIC, MIRACULOUS change in this child's work ethic and the relationship we have. I am to be used where I am.
One of my favorite shows is NCIS, and Gibbs was the leader of this Navy Investigation Team....Whenever a character was being "stupid" he would "Gibbs Slap" them....meaning Gibbs would slap the "stupid" person in the back of the head.
God gets the privilege of "Gibbs Slapping" me WAAAAAY TOO OFTEN! He simply says, "Grow where you are planted!" and "I will work out what's best for you." and my favorite, "My princess, I have set you apart!"
These are the wonderful things God is teaching me through this BEYOND trying year. IF God brings you to--he WILL take you through!!!!
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