Another Day

This school year has flown by. Did you know that schoolyear and classwork aren't recognized by spell check? It seems like we just got going, and it's time for the state tests. Kiddo and Kiddo 2.0 took their tests in the vocational classes today. Kiddo 2.0 had a REALLY rough morning but he battled through. His mom had a car wreck on the way to work. She is ok, but he was pretty rattled. He was given the option of taking the test later in the week, but decided to go ahead because his mom might need him tomorrow. The test is online. Halfway through, the internet went down, and he had to start again.  I am really in awe of some of our kids. They are amazing, strong, hardworking, and exceedingly kind. Naturally, not every student fits this mold.  
I know lately teachers have taken a lot of crap. A lot of teachers have put a lot of crap out there. There are days I want to get on the loudspeaker and yell something, then slide down an inflatable slide as an escape hatch. However, most days I am extraordinarily grateful to be able to work with the kids I teach. Sure, there are a few that are punks. The good ones make up for it most of the time. The media likes to drag education through the mud. Everyone thinks the next new thing is the answer. This is what I know...there are no easy answers. The only thing I can do is go to work every day, give it my all, and love my kids. If Katie Couric and Oprah still want to complain, then well, I feel sorry for them, not me. They don't get to know  Sensitive Boy Student, who is popular, yet one of the kindest kids I know. They don't get to know my student with significant learning problems and physical impairments who is so brave. He comes every day and gives it everything he has. They don't know Kiddo or Kiddo 2.0 who live in a HORRIBLE neighborhood with awful things going on around them. However, they both have a grandmother or a sister who had an influence on their lives that has put up a sort of wall of protection around them.

My pay isn't much. My insurance is crap. We catch a lot of junk from every direction.

Still, I feel like the blessed one. I feel sorry for Oprah and the ones who don't get it.