Why do we do it?

This is a question that I believe every teacher asks themselves from time to time. Especially when you teach at a school that one might consider "rough around the edges." I teach in such a school. I have taught in such a school for the past 2 1/2 years and moved to one that is pretty much the same. Yesterday, I asked myself this question. Sometimes, when I start getting angry or frustrated with my students, I actually have to tell myself that it does not affect my job if they fail. If they try desperately to make it hard on me, I don't have to actually care whether they pass or fail my class. Is it wrong for me to tell myself that? Part of me says, "yes" and part says, "no." In fact, yesterday, I told a class that was being extremely rowdy and disrespectful that if they didn't want me to care whether they passed or failed that I could turn it off like a switch. I want my students to be successful but what price do I have to pay for them to come to my class ready to learn. It doesn't matter how good of a teacher I am. If they don't want to learn, they're not going to learn. My wife, many times, worries about the things I say to my students. I'm not really good at "beating around the bush." I pretty much say what I think my students need to hear, and, sometimes the truth hurts. I work really hard to prepare my students for the next level and tell them up front what the next level looks like. Some "get it" and some don't. In the end, I can only do so much. I really do want to make a difference in the lives of my students and I know that I may never see if I have actually made an impact. I can only try to continue to do what I think is right. Currently, it's not just the students that make me rethink my career timeline. It's also the support I get from the school district (see previous post). I planned on teaching and coaching high school for the next 10-12 years. That may be shortened to 1-3 years depending on where God wants me to be. I just trust that He opens the doors that I should walk through.
Why do we do it? Because we think we might be making a difference. There's no glory, no big paycheck and rarely do we even get a pat on the back. If that was what I was waiting on, I would have already left.

Fast Times at Newark High

So, I've completed almost 3 full weeks of work at new high school and I'm adjusting okay. It's interesting, and at times, disheartening to see how different the schools are in Delaware. First of all, at least in the school district that I work, technology sucks! From my TV not working, to not having the capabilities to show my students power point or digital pictures, to having to check out textbooks to my students by hand. It's not very pleasant having as many as 40 students in a single class, either. The students' behavior is about what I'm accustomed to but just a lot more of it. Also, there's coaching. I love to coach and enjoy every minute on the floor ten times more than the classroom. Here, I won't even see the court until November. It's a little depressing :( On top of everything, I've already had to help break up a fight. Oh, and it wasn't just a scuffle. One girl was beating another girl to a pulp! It was wild! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish writing a grant that would get me a laptop and an LCD projector. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Extremely Frustrated

So, as part of having this new teaching job in Delaware, I have to jump through a few hoops first. I have to get a TB test, I have to get my former school district to send employment verfication, get fingerprinted by the State of Delware, get a drug screening within 36 hours of being told I need one, send transcripts, get a Delaware teaching license and, last, get my doctor to sign a paper that says that I don't have any diseases, physical defects or mental health problems. I have jumped through every hoop except the last one. It's not because I haven't tried but it's because my doctor was on vacation the week between finding out this information and moving to Delaware. And she refuses to sign my form without examining me. Now, the HR person at the school district said specifically to me that it was not about having a physical. It was just to confirm the other information. In part, I understand my doctor's reluctance to sign the paper but, at the same time, even when I have had allergy problems and have gone to see her, I have called in later to get more medication for the same problem. She won't just call it in. She has to see me AGAIN! I know, I know. She has every right to want to see me before calling in medication for me. We're spoiled I guess by the fact that most other doctors we've ever had would be able to give an over-the-phone consultation and decide whether we should be seen or not. This woman has never talked to me over the phone until today to tell me that she would not sign my form. So, my insurance in TX expires today and I won't have any insurance in DE until Sept. 1. So, I have to find a doctor within the next couple of weeks to sign my form and not charge me through the nose for it. That should be easy, right?

Faith vs. Works

Words from Mark again! I just finished the 10th chapter of Mark and had an interesting thought cross my mind. Mark was mentioning some people like, Bartimaeus, who was blind and called to Jesus from the gate of Jericho. Jesus didn't lay his hands on him, he didn't spit in the dirt or stick his fingers in old Bart's ears. He simply asked, "What do you want?" Bart simply responds, "I want to see." That was it! And what was "that," you might wonder. It was faith. Jesus said that his faith had healed him. It occurred to me recently that some of the pageantry that Jesus showed in healing certain people wasn't because he needed to do that, but because the person he healed needed to know that he actually did something. In many cases though, you see him heal people without even seeing them or by them just touching the hem of his cloak. Some people need their faith enriched to the point of being healed (a sign), whereas others simply need to know that they can reach out and touch Jesus (in biblical terms physically but in our terms metaphorically). I know, I know! The title of this post says Faith vs. Works. Well, as I was reading this, it also occurred to me that there has been an age-old debate on whether faith or works get us to heaven. Well, the actual answer I believe is, neither. Grace gets us to heaven. But in the name of arguing this point, isn't the argument silly. One perpetuates the other, doesn't it. If you have true faith, doesn't it compel you to do works in the name of Christ? And if you are doing works in the name of Christ, doesn't the outcome perpetuate your faith. Something to ruminate on, I guess.

TRADITION!!!! tradition.

One of our favorite musicals to watch is, "Fiddler on the Roof." The songs are so memorable and the constant refrain about "Tradition" just rings in your brain afterward. I was just reading through Mark 7 and I came across this same theme. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees about clean and unclean and how they were putting aside the true meaning of the laws of Moses in order to maintain their traditions. I'm so glad that we don't do that these days. We actually talked about this in a sunday school class that I was in a few weeks ago. The teacher actually attended a church for a while that believed that if other churches didn't follow their exact same method of assembly, that they had got it ALL wrong. How do Christians get this way? I'm a Texas Aggie and I know and love traditions but Lord help me if I let traditions get in the way of what the bible is telling me.

Harry Potter, at last!

I hate to say it but I'm a Harry Potter fanatic. I know that Harry Potter is supposed to be for kids, well, adolescents at least but I've just been engrossed in the story. I finally, this past week, finished the seventh and final installment. It was phenomenal. I don't think it could've been written any better. I know that there are those out there that would disagree but I was rivetted from first to last and everywhere in between(ask my wife). I dare not put anything on this blog about the story so that nobody(including my wife) who hasn't found time to read it yet will see any spoilers, no matter how mild. I take comfort in the fact that I have many friends around my age that also have the same attitude toward these books. Some very close friends of ours bought the book and spent 27 hours, almost straight through, reading it. It's hard not to when you've been waiting over two years for it to come out. There's not many other books you can think of that you knew would be written but had to wait this long to actually speed through its pages. This will probably turn into one of those annual series for me. I have read all of the books, except for the last one, more than once and have read the longest of the seven in more than one language. It's one of those stories that you don't really seem to get tired of. Another friend of mine told me recently that he feels the same way about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and reads those every year. I can also compare it with the Chronicles of Narnia which my wife and I both read within the last year and plan to read them again in the future. Congratulations to J.K. Rowling for having such a great imagination and being able to share it in a way that has encouraged so many young people to read again!

Asleep at the wheel

So, how cute is this? My daughter stuffed herself and then just passed out. I wish it was okay for me to do this at the table. Lord knows I feel like it all the time. Anyway, I just wanted to share this and the fact that I not only, cleaned her with a wet rag, but also picked her up and layed her in bed for her nap without so much as a flinch.