...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Tuesday, October 11, 2005
      ( 5:40 PM )
 
I'm Back

Whew. Felled by the bronchitis. Back on my feet and back to the blog! Mini first-year teaching report: Things are going pretty well. I'm really enjoying teaching global studies. It's a great time to be teaching kids about the world. We did have a tragedy in our school this week. A young freshman commmitted suicide. It was a terrible shock, and many of the freshmen have been deeply affected. They only just came up from middle school, they are still so very young. It is so hard to face something so tragic, but I have been impressed with how the school has handled it, and in each of my classes, we've just taken time at the beginning of class to talk about it and be honest with each other about how we're feeling. It's just a really tough thing. It's been many years since a suicide happened in our school, so it's not in any recent memory for any of the kids or teachers. The school is providing a saferoom that is staying open for kids to come by and be with friends and counselors to talk through the week. I like how the school faces things like this openly and honestly with the students, there's no avoidance or hiding from it. I think that's honorable. It's just tough when it's so young a kid. Kids face a lot nowadays - I have students who have lost parents, who have parents in prison, who are homeless, who live on their own, who have to work every moment they're not in school to help support the family, who don't have enough to eat. It goes on and on. NO child should have to face what so many of our children face. Here in this country we are fooling ourselves that we are strong and good until we face up to the truth and actually take care of our children.

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