Why I Teach

No one goes into teaching for the money. It's just not there. Most people say that the reason they went into teaching was because they wanted to make a difference. Either they wanted to make a better future for themselves indirectly by teaching tomorrow's politicians, lawyers, doctors and educators, or they just wanted to make an impact on someone's life enough to be remembered later. I must admit that I got into teaching for a mixture of the two reasons. I really like teaching, and I know, it's stupid, but I love learning more than that!
I think that's why I get so bothered by the question that I hear seven times a day, "When are we ever going to need this?" To which I reply, "On the TAKS test"... but that's a whole different blog.
This weekend, I finally had a moment when I felt that I made a difference in a child's future. I must have done something right, because I went this weekend to the wedding of one of my former students. Now, when I say former, you would think that she already graduated, but you would be wrong. This little girl left our class in December, as a junior, to go with her parents to be missionaries in Germany. Not too long after that, I got an e-mail from her that said she was back in Texas, but in Dallas. So, that's okay. Then, on Thursday, I received an invitation to her wedding on Saturday. Speculation is that she is pregnant, and that's why they had to come back, but I didn't ask... that's another blog, too.
Anyway.
When I got there, she saw me walk in the door, and so I went back to her and gave her a hug, and she got teary, and said she was glad that I was there, and that she was nervous. I told her she was beautiful, and that she shouldn't cry and mess up her make-up. Thinking back, not the best words of wisdom, but she's not my daughter, right?
Anyway, I watched her walk down the aisle, marry this little boy trying so hard to act like a man, and then all I could think about was how young they were and how I hoped that they had the support system they were going to need to make it through this choice that they made. It made me get a little teary.
Afterward, her mother came up to me and told me how excited her daughter had been that I had come, and her dad came up later and said the same thing. It gave me warm fuzzy feelings inside to know that by one simple act of attendance, I feel like I gave a little girl the reassurance that she wasn't forgotten by our school, and that little bit of confidence that she was loved by someone other than family.
I kept the invitation, just so that I can remember to pray for them when I see it, because Lord knows they are going to need all the help they can get.

Update

For those people that read this that I haven't called yet... I want to let you know that Friday was my boy's doctor appointment with the cardiologist, and he said that Micheal's heart is fine. He said that from a cardiac standpoint, we don't ever have to come back to see him. It's just an innocent murmur, and he'll either grow out of it, or will just be an extra sound that his heart makes. I have never been so relieved in my life. I want to thank you for the prayers and concern, and say that I am now feeling the power of Christ and His grace. I am forever grateful for my perfect little boy.

Holy Gross-ness Batman!

Okay, I have created my own website dedicated to the homework that I assign my students every day, and I was just checking it to see if anyone had looked at it. Well, the thing about geocities is that you have to have these advertisements in order to not have to pay to have the website... I'm all for that part. The part I just had to blog about immediately is that I clicked on one of the advertisements, and this is what came up.

EEEEWWWW!!!! Who the heck ever wanted RE-USABLE!?!

Now that I have promptly grossed everyone else out, I am going to resume my daily grind.

After School Program

I am really dedicated to my students. I do things for them that most high school teachers wouldn't even consider. Our school district thought it would be good if we could stay after school and help those kids that didn't perform very well on the TAKS Benchmark test get a little more one on one time so that they may be able to solidify some more concepts a little better.

We chose Mondays and Wednesdays, and I picked out 5 or 6 sophomores and juniors, and we alternate days, Juniors one day and Sophomores the other day. It's not that long, just an hour, but the extra money is nice, and I like to see that the kids that take the extra time to stay after actually get something out of it and do a little better on the actual test, which by the way is only 11 school days away.

That being said, I'm sitting here after school with not one person that chose to stay after. What the heck? Does that mean I don't get paid for staying? Do I still have to stay? I don't know.
I think I'm just going to give up that they're not coming and go home. Doesn't that make me feel like my time was well-used?!?

Politics and heaven

I am not a person who likes to really discuss political items. I am, however, wanting to discuss this whole Terri Schiavo situation. I don't think it is fair for the media to be showing video footage of a person that seems responsive and act like it was just yesterday or last week that the footage was taken when you can clearly see in the corner in little tiny print that it was really taken in 2001! How is that fair to the emotions of people that depend on television to get the news?
It makes me feel like we are all just their little puppets, dancing the way that they want us to dance, acting like they planned.
I really am glad that she has finally left this world, and hopefully she believed in Christ, and will now take her rightful place in heaven. Because then she will be restored to her best, before she became the poster woman for all vegetative people living in limbo. No one wants to be a vegetable, and I just wish that all this fuss wouldn't have happened over a person that couldn't speak for herself. But then again, isn't that what the judicial system is for? To help those people that can't always speak for themselves...
Okay, now I really need to get off this topic before I stir up the wrong pot.
Thank you for letting me vent.