Inside the Mind of an Educator

Reading and writing are so important, and I know that without the ability to do both life is much harder.  However, while reading and responding to The Freedom Writer's Diary, I found a student's response so moving it made the whole world stop. My head was spinning, and I was reminded why I even became a teacher in the first place. The desire to teach was sparked when I was just a sad little first grader, struggling to survive heartbreak and tragedy. My father was killed in a train collision that year, and my heart was broken and fear had entered my world. I had an amazing first grade teacher, Mrs. Frederick, who got me through that horrible year of my life.  (I will publish the story of Mrs. Frederick this week as well so be looking for it!) So, this past week the students were reading about first impressions and the ideas we get in mind about a person. We were discussing the first impressions we get as children versus the impressions we build as prejudice enters our world.

The darkness has begun to invade.  You can see it everywhere in Alaska right now, especially in the schools. I have felt sluggish, tired, and impatient lately. After the last class of the day left my room, I put my head down on my desk and wanted to weep like a two-year-old child. It was a tough day, and I am feeling the effects of a day dealing with other individuals who are lacking vitamins supplied by the sun.  It seems odd to those who have not experienced it, but a Vitamin D deficiency is a true "sickness" in Alaska.  There are many articles and studies showing the importance of sunshine as a nutrition source for our bodies.  Therapists, even prescribe Christmas lights as a way to help improve the mood of their patients. All throughout the city streets colorfully lit houses start popping up in October. At first I thought it was just because people wanted to get ahead of the snow soon to be covering their roofs. However, now I know it is also the only "splash of li

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  If you want to see emotional imbalance come to a high school on Valentine's day. WOW! The tears were almost as prevalent as the flowers, chocoloates and the number of mini-skirts in the building today. The first email at 7:00 a.m. was from the head of security asking for some extra back-up in the hallways this morning. There seemed to be a small breach in the dress code as all the girls were "dressing to impress." The number of girls lining up for dress code infractions looked like a line for a Twilight movie at midnight.  There were skirts of all shapes, colors, and styles. However, they had one thing in common, their length, or lack thereof.  There were some that, literally, looked as though the young lady had forgotten to put anything on her bottom half at all.  The best comment I overheard as all these fashion divas marched past my room to the office was; "You are just saying it's too short because you are jealous you can't m

Some days I laugh, some days I cry, and some days I wonder what in the world is going on through the minds of these kids. I am sure we all feel the same way when it comes to the mind of a teenager. We see some of their risky behaviors and shake our heads. However, if we are being honest, we all  know we have had some behaviors unbecoming of a human being at that age as well. Today, I was reminded why I want to go back to high school, and shake the shoulders of the teenager I used to be. Attention seeking behaviors are present in every single class. There are positive behaviors like raising a hand, or making eye contact. However, there are also the negative behaviors that make the day "colorful" to say the least. Some of this "colorful" behavior can be quite frustrating at times, but some times it is extremely difficult not to laugh. Laughing at the negative attention seeking behaviors will only cause the student to feel empowered, and this can cause him or her to