"When a middle or high school teacher gazes out over her classroom, she
is looking at one in three girls who have been sexually mistreated and
one in six or seven boys, depending on which statistic you accept.
Approximately one in ten is gay; more are struggling with sexual
identity. That is not to mention those engaged in family power
struggles resulting in eating disorders, crippling anxiety or
depression, and/or self-malnutrition. Truth is, every teacher is
involved with as many troubled students as not. As if adolescence
weren't trouble enough....
There simply is no tougher job that
that of Teacher. When I was a full time therapist, I would sit in my
office, listening to the stories of some ravaged adolescent, and think,
'This kid is in a school somewhere in this town. His teacher has no
idea what his life is like, and the kid's not going to tell because he
can't afford to." His behavior will often look exactly opposite of his
true feelings. That teacher had to create a safe place for him AND must
educate him. That teacher is flying blind. But still she cranks up
the props each day and takes 'er up. THAT'S courage. THAT'S how you
leave no child behind. THAT'S being a teacher."
~ Chris Crutcher (Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice)
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My thoughts:
Powerful
and true. And sadly, I know that no matter what the age, there are
kids who are in trouble....kids who the seed of pain has been
planted...and without good teachers, to help stop it, it will grow. We
may not be able to stop it....maybe just slow it down, teach them how to
control it, survive it.
Kids spend 6-7 hours a day in our
classrooms....for many, it is the best 6 or 7 hours they will have. For
some kids, the four walls of our classrooms are the safest place they
will be. Some teachers "kick out" the troublesome ones....not
me....those are the ones who need to stay the most. It is our job to
figure out a way to "give them a win". If they are not in our
classroom, who will do it--"give them a win".
It is our job to
find a way to make them want to stay....for some kids, they may leave
and not come back....we need to own up to that....keep that in
mind.....no one wants to feel discarded by everyone.
Be "the One" for the kids....you may be the only one, but it just takes one.....
One
person can save a soul or break a soul at any moment...20,000 moments
in a day.....just think how many souls you can touch in those
moments....we need to make them good....or else, it could be too late
tomorrow.
This isn't just for teachers....it is for all of
us....those of us in kids lives. Parents of their friends, coaches,
everyone......we all need to know, to watch, to care.
