As I start my third week in the classroom, I have a lot of things going through my head. First of all, we started rough drafts on Friday. Even after countless lessons on Narrative Writing, only a handful of my students actually produced what I would call a narrative. Others almost made it, but most missed the mark entirely. Where did I go wrong? At what point did I lose them?
On another note, reading these narratives has been a real eye opener. Yeah, I know these kids are from a tough neighborhood, but some of the things I’m reading are shocking. It’s humbling to hear how much these 12 year old kids have been through already. How can I possibly stand in front of them and tell them that their story about their mother leaving them is actually structured more as an informative essay than a narrative? I want to scoop them up and bring them back to my castle in Pearland and give them all the attention they deserve. I also want to sit a few of them down in a corner and yell at them for sneaking out in the middle of the night to go see a fight at the cemetery. But that’s not my job. I have to find the line between teacher and parent. I didn’t think it would be this hard.
Every person on the TFA staff has warned us not to get too involved. It does more harm than good. We have to teach them how to be better people and make good choices for themselves. We’re not supposed to step in and assume the role of Mom or Dad. But when I know what these kids are going home to, when I read the notes I confiscate during class, and when they tell me all about their difficult lives through their narratives, what CAN I do?
On a lighter note, this weekend did me a world of good. I slept for 14 hours on Friday night, had a wonderful anniversary with Ryan, and got to spend a lot of time with my family. It’s nice to relax and forget for a while, but it’s also nice to be back in action. I can’t wait to get into my classroom today and see what else my students can do. The best part of my day comes in the 30 minutes after class when I’m reading their assessments. I get to see exactly how much I taught them, and they get to show off how brilliant they are. Have I mentioned lately that my students are geniuses? Because they are.
