One 1/2 day more left of school this year. Believe me, it has been A LONG YEAR. The majority of my students this year were low, low, low academically and DID NOT want to learn a damn thing. Period. And, they let me know it. They had the IQ of a flea, the attention span of a gnat, and the concentration of a rabid squirrel. But, you know, by May, I realized I would miss the little buggers! And, the last two weeks, I wrapped up their academic learning and spent several days doing science experiments with them. We mixed baking soda and water and one boy squirted it accidentally all down the front of me. We made oobleck and I spent 3 days vacuuming my room to get all the powder out of the carpet. We looked at everyday objects from photos on the Internet...things like a split end, salt & pepper, and pores of skin. We watched several episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy through my iPad. They researched hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, sharks, flowers, bats, maps, and even Presidents of the U.S. on their iPads and made presentations. The bottom line is this: I'm actually going to miss them!
One of my brightest boys today put his head down on his desk and just started crying (3rd grader)...I asked him, that afternoon, what happened and he told me he hasn't seen his dad in 5 years. Dad has a new wife and a new son...HOW in the HELL do you respond to that? I told him my husband doesn't EVER remember seeing HIS own father, but that when our kids were born, he decided to be the best dad he could for them....After talking to this kid for a while, I sat with him and we drew our sunflower art project together. I hope I gave him a little bit of hope. Isn't that what being a teacher is all about?
I do wish these kids will come back and visit me next year. And, will I be a pile of tears as they leave? YOU BETCHA!
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