together is better.

As a second grade teacher,  I have seen many students come and go. Spending each day with them, I have the opportunity to really get to know them and there are times when I learn they may have some unmet physical and/or emotional needs.

Sometimes their needs end up being met through school channels, by another family connected to the school, or even by me, their teacher. I have found that it is important for school personnel to be aware of community resources that are available and to be able to connect their students and their families with those services. I think there is a need for school personnel to have a working knowledge of local agencies that can provide these families with the support they need.

In our small town, we have a local agency that meets with families to assess their needs, gives needed assistance, and makes additional referrals to other local agencies. This network is beneficial when trying to quickly meet the needs of a family. Everyone benefits when we collaborate. Working in isolation leads to a waste of time and resources. It can also create confusion for the family.

The demands placed on teachers is ever increasing, but this is definitely something worth looking into before a need arises. I’m going to encourage my administrators to consider inviting local agencies to speak to school personnel about the services they provide with the hope that our teachers will feel better equipped to meet the needs of students and their families.

“All About Me” Bags

As each new school year begins, teachers spend a lot of time teaching routines, establishing boundaries, or what I like to call “laying down the law”. Every wise educator knows that those first couple of weeks are crucial in setting the tone for the coming year. Be firm, yet loving; be stern, yet kind; be strong, yet sensitive… and all the while I’m trying to get back into the groove of things myself. I have to admit I get a little overwhelmed with meeting a new set of parents, remembering who everyone is, learning new material, and trying my best to remember who is going to go into anaphylaxis if stung by a bee. The start of a new school year can be crazy.

This year, I want to be more intentional about getting to know my new little friends. This year, I made sure we actually made the “me bags”. Every year I say I’m going to do them and then they get pushed to the side because “there’s just not enough time in the day”. As I sat there and listened to them share their five little treasures, I became aware of what motivates, inspires, and excites them. I also gained insight to the structure or lack of structure in their families, their homelessness, their diet, their struggles, and their pains. Wow, all that from a little brown paper bag.

I can’t help but wonder what their bags will say about them 182 days from now? Will they hold high reading levels, soaring math scores, or will there be any evidence of a teacher who loved them well? I hope that all three are there.

And what about the other 2 things in the bag? I hope there’s a couple of adventures in there, too.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

The Tooth

As a second grade teacher, I see lots of tooth pulling! At the first sign of the slightest wiggle, I’ve lost all chances to gain even an ounce of the “tooth puller’s” attention. That tooth has it all. The determination, the relentless pursuit of the tooth, and THE BLOOD!!! It’s amazing how much power one little tooth can hold. And when that tooth finally breaks loose…all of heaven rejoices. Such relief, such joy, and a gaping hole in their expectant smile. The tooth is a treasure and promise of good things to come and they guard it with their life until it reaches it’s destination…the pillow.

When I came across The Tooth, I was captured by the way this little girl so easily parted with her tooth. I have never seen any student offer to give their newly pulled tooth away, but I have certainly seen wailing when one was dropped and unable to be found. Knowing the value of her tooth, she willingly gives it away to a homeless man she notices outside the dentist’s office. This is a precious story of “seeing” people and meeting their needs with compassion and kindness. The story can be seen and read by Annette Bening on http://www.storylineonline.net/thetooth.

Compassion Friday

Three years ago, my third grade class went to Uganda.

In 2009, I was placed in a teaching position my heart did not desire. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the very place that God would use to change my heart and the way I taught…forever.  God took a year of physical and emotional pain and used it to open my eyes to His plan for my classroom. The following year, I took my students on a journey unlike any before.

Three years ago, my third grade class went to Uganda. We learned about the customs and traditions of the Ugandan people. We learned about their hardships and their needs. As we journeyed, I continued to teach what is required of me, but soon found myself teaching what my heart was longing to teach. In addition to the basics, I began to teach compassion. Yes, you do have to teach it. Children want to do good and they want to make a difference in this often crazy world they live in. Even at the age of 8, they are looking for someone to show them, teach them, lead them, and give them opportunities to be compassionate.

Compassion Friday began with a simple map of Africa, a photo card from Compassion, and some facts and information about Uganda. I shared letters with them, explored Uganda through the use of Google Earth, and they began to look at the globe as if it were an open door to new adventures. They were interested, engaged, and they wanted to know more.

No, we never really  left our classroom.

Yet, if you asked them…

they’d tell you that was the year our class went to Uganda.

A Journey of 180 Days

Each year, I welcome a new group of students to join me for a journey of 182 days. 182 days may not seem like much, but for 180 days we learn together, eat together, play together, laugh together, and grow together. Each day, I spend more waking hours with my students than their parents do. I have them captive for nearly 8 hours a day. Students receive daily instruction in reading, writing, computation, and problem solving. While all of these are beneficial and a vital part of a formal education, I have the unique opportunity to pour more into them than the required curriculum content. Three years ago, I began to look closely at the kind of difference I could make in those 180 days. How could I make a difference that would go beyond the classroom and last into eternity?