Teaching in an urban alternative school was like no other school I attended or worked in. It didn't take me long to realize that the people working there were either passionate about kids, crazy, or a little of both.
During the lull at fall parent-teacher conferences, one of my veteran colleagues sat me down and gave me the real scoop on teaching in an alternative setting. The first thing Teresa told me was to forget the curriculum...what?
Teresa told me that the kids we worked with could care less about the subjects we were trying to teach until they were certain we cared about them. Sadly, many of our students had major trust issues, and for good reason.
She explained that listening to their stories, made up or not, was crucial. Just to have adult ears, heads, and hearts tuned into them could change the whole dynamic. Teresa made sure she also explained that building relationships with students didn't include being their friend.
Apparently, Teresa didn't have the same conversation with our program administrator. Bernadette loved joking with students, until she didn't, or they took it too far.
The first time it happened, I was convinced I had walked through the looking glass. When I heard yelling in the hall, I stepped out of my classroom just in time to see a secondary student beating it down the hallway. Bernadette was in hot pursuit.
Then all of a sudden, Bernadette stopped and bent down. Whew! I thought she'd either remembered she was the adult, or she'd heard students poking their heads out of doorways and laughing up a storm.
Nope. Wrong on both counts. Bernadette had stopped to take off her high heels so she could throw them at the student. Of course that was only one of many days the security camera wasn't working.
I gotta tell you, Dear Reader, they NEVER covered anything like that at the small Baptist college where I earned my teaching degree. Remember what I said about passionate or crazy? Yeah, my profs didn't talk about crazy.
I didn't think I learned much from Bernadette, but in retrospect I think I learned one important lesson: God will do whatever it takes to get our attention.
Teresa told me that the kids we worked with could care less about the subjects we were trying to teach until they were certain we cared about them. Sadly, many of our students had major trust issues, and for good reason.
She explained that listening to their stories, made up or not, was crucial. Just to have adult ears, heads, and hearts tuned into them could change the whole dynamic. Teresa made sure she also explained that building relationships with students didn't include being their friend.
Apparently, Teresa didn't have the same conversation with our program administrator. Bernadette loved joking with students, until she didn't, or they took it too far.
The first time it happened, I was convinced I had walked through the looking glass. When I heard yelling in the hall, I stepped out of my classroom just in time to see a secondary student beating it down the hallway. Bernadette was in hot pursuit.
Then all of a sudden, Bernadette stopped and bent down. Whew! I thought she'd either remembered she was the adult, or she'd heard students poking their heads out of doorways and laughing up a storm.
Nope. Wrong on both counts. Bernadette had stopped to take off her high heels so she could throw them at the student. Of course that was only one of many days the security camera wasn't working.
I gotta tell you, Dear Reader, they NEVER covered anything like that at the small Baptist college where I earned my teaching degree. Remember what I said about passionate or crazy? Yeah, my profs didn't talk about crazy.
I didn't think I learned much from Bernadette, but in retrospect I think I learned one important lesson: God will do whatever it takes to get our attention.
All of the following blessings will be yours—in fact, they’ll chase after you—if you’ll listen to what He tells you.
Deuteronomy 28:2 VOICE
Dear Reader, has it ever felt like God's shoe has flown by your head? It surely has for me. That's kinda what being at the alternative school was for me, God trying to get my attention so He could bless me.
I hope the next time something crazy catches you off-guard you'll stop for a minute to see if our passionate for us, crazy about us Heavenly Father is trying to get your attention.
I hope the next time something crazy catches you off-guard you'll stop for a minute to see if our passionate for us, crazy about us Heavenly Father is trying to get your attention.
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