I've been thinking about lots of things I want to write about in here lately, but whenever I have free time, I've been trying to work on my grad school applications and essays. Or doing quizzes on Sporcle. Which may not be the most productive use of my time, but at least it has replaced Farmville. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. Now if only I could stop wasting time on Facebook, I'd be in business.
Since I wrote last, we had another short week of school because of the Urban Promise banquet and first quarter conferences. The banquet was different this year, because instead of having a keynote speaker, the program was put on by the campers, StreetLeaders, and volunteers. UrbanPromise Camden has been doing their banquet like that for years, and now I totally see why. It definitely makes sense. I feel like our guests left with a lot more of an understanding of what Urban Promise is about and how it's an agent of change in people's lives and what some of the challenges the kids and teenagers face living in a city. I think overall that the banquet was a success (we had over 500 people!), but I definitely think it can be better next year. In typical Urban Promise style, we did most things at the last minute, including have just one rehearsal with the kids involved in performing just a couple hours before the event began. But they really did a great job, and it was a blessing to be able to see them up on stage.
My favorite part was when the school choir sang. My class wasn't a part of it, because they always start it from first grade (I think my kids would have been great though), but one of the girls that was in my first class had a solo singing all the verses, and she was GREAT! It was really moving to hear her beautiful singing and remember when she was in kindergarten and see how much she's grown and matured. I couldn't help but remember the time when she threw herself on the ground kicking and screaming (and she was NOT a small kid) when I wouldn't let her eat her giant, iced honeybun at snack time (healthy snacks only). She kept repeating in between sobs "A honeybun...is...a healthy...snack!" Another one of my favorite memories of this student is when she'd rant at naptime when everyone was sleeping and she didn't want to lay down any longer. I used to write them down. Some favorite lines include, "I was going to bake you something with my Easy Bake Oven, but now I'm not!" and "This school is made of the devil,
and best of all, "I hate this school! No one even tells me my clothes are pretty!" That last one still pops into my head all the time when I'm in a bad mood or extra grumpy about something irritating at school. It usually helps me cheer up.
Oh, the joys of teaching kindergarten. But it makes it all worth it just to be able to see my students performing and singing praise to God and to see how they've grown and what they've learned. Monday evening will be our annual Thanksgiving dinner, and a bunch of my students will be performing a praise dance they've been learning after school, so I'm excited for that too.
I can't say that doing parent conferences filled me with the same joy that the banquet did, but most of them went well. It's nice to have a chance to sit down with the parents, especially the ones I don't know very well, and to be able to tell them good things about their kids. It's evident that some of them are surprised to hear anything good! Two of my conferences were not as great. One parent disagreed with basically everything I said. Like when I said her child sometimes acted mean towards other students, and I shared some of the reasons why I think that may be, but I can tell that he is clearly a very kind, compassionate, and sensitive child. Her response: no, he's just mean. She kept saying that. Wow. It gives some insight into why this child is the way he is. The other day I was helping him write his numbers, and I told him to erase one of the 5's he'd made and try it again. He said matter-of-factly, "Oh, because it's terrible." It's just sad that he's used to hearing so many negative things about himself and about his abilities.
The other conference got a little bizarre, with a parent vehemently arguing with me about a day her child was late but she didn't think he was. We'd already been through all of this on the day it happened, and I really didn't feel like talking about it again. She was starting to cry and yelling at me, and I found myself wishing there was another adult around in case things got any more out of hand. She kept saying that as an educator (she used to be a teacher), she learned to pick her battles. And I was kind of agreeing with her. Yes, I agree you need to pick your battles. And arguing about whether your child got to school at 8:14 or 8:16 does not seem to be a battle that's worth picking. But then I realized she was telling me that I needed to pick MY battles, and that I needed to pick the battles she wanted me to pick. She went on to imply that I was insensitive to what her family was going through and lots of other borderline really rude things, but I stayed calm and didn't give in and told her to talk to our principal (which she's already done, and I know the principal's not going to change her mind). Yay for not being the one in charge!
There's lots more I could say, but I'll stop for now. I need to buy a gift for a co-worker's bridal shower. And I need to keep working on my grad school personal statement. I'm finding it really challenging to sum up my experiences with Urban Promise. But I will continue to try...maybe over some BOGO Starbucks holiday coffee drinks. Yum, skinny peppermint mocha. It definitely puts me in the Christmas spirit. That, and the fact that two local radio stations are already playing Christmas music. And the Glee Christmas CD came out this week. Maybe that will be my gift to myself when I finish my applications! OK, now I'm motivated.
Since I wrote last, we had another short week of school because of the Urban Promise banquet and first quarter conferences. The banquet was different this year, because instead of having a keynote speaker, the program was put on by the campers, StreetLeaders, and volunteers. UrbanPromise Camden has been doing their banquet like that for years, and now I totally see why. It definitely makes sense. I feel like our guests left with a lot more of an understanding of what Urban Promise is about and how it's an agent of change in people's lives and what some of the challenges the kids and teenagers face living in a city. I think overall that the banquet was a success (we had over 500 people!), but I definitely think it can be better next year. In typical Urban Promise style, we did most things at the last minute, including have just one rehearsal with the kids involved in performing just a couple hours before the event began. But they really did a great job, and it was a blessing to be able to see them up on stage.
My favorite part was when the school choir sang. My class wasn't a part of it, because they always start it from first grade (I think my kids would have been great though), but one of the girls that was in my first class had a solo singing all the verses, and she was GREAT! It was really moving to hear her beautiful singing and remember when she was in kindergarten and see how much she's grown and matured. I couldn't help but remember the time when she threw herself on the ground kicking and screaming (and she was NOT a small kid) when I wouldn't let her eat her giant, iced honeybun at snack time (healthy snacks only). She kept repeating in between sobs "A honeybun...is...a healthy...snack!" Another one of my favorite memories of this student is when she'd rant at naptime when everyone was sleeping and she didn't want to lay down any longer. I used to write them down. Some favorite lines include, "I was going to bake you something with my Easy Bake Oven, but now I'm not!" and "This school is made of the devil,
and best of all, "I hate this school! No one even tells me my clothes are pretty!" That last one still pops into my head all the time when I'm in a bad mood or extra grumpy about something irritating at school. It usually helps me cheer up.
Oh, the joys of teaching kindergarten. But it makes it all worth it just to be able to see my students performing and singing praise to God and to see how they've grown and what they've learned. Monday evening will be our annual Thanksgiving dinner, and a bunch of my students will be performing a praise dance they've been learning after school, so I'm excited for that too.
I can't say that doing parent conferences filled me with the same joy that the banquet did, but most of them went well. It's nice to have a chance to sit down with the parents, especially the ones I don't know very well, and to be able to tell them good things about their kids. It's evident that some of them are surprised to hear anything good! Two of my conferences were not as great. One parent disagreed with basically everything I said. Like when I said her child sometimes acted mean towards other students, and I shared some of the reasons why I think that may be, but I can tell that he is clearly a very kind, compassionate, and sensitive child. Her response: no, he's just mean. She kept saying that. Wow. It gives some insight into why this child is the way he is. The other day I was helping him write his numbers, and I told him to erase one of the 5's he'd made and try it again. He said matter-of-factly, "Oh, because it's terrible." It's just sad that he's used to hearing so many negative things about himself and about his abilities.
The other conference got a little bizarre, with a parent vehemently arguing with me about a day her child was late but she didn't think he was. We'd already been through all of this on the day it happened, and I really didn't feel like talking about it again. She was starting to cry and yelling at me, and I found myself wishing there was another adult around in case things got any more out of hand. She kept saying that as an educator (she used to be a teacher), she learned to pick her battles. And I was kind of agreeing with her. Yes, I agree you need to pick your battles. And arguing about whether your child got to school at 8:14 or 8:16 does not seem to be a battle that's worth picking. But then I realized she was telling me that I needed to pick MY battles, and that I needed to pick the battles she wanted me to pick. She went on to imply that I was insensitive to what her family was going through and lots of other borderline really rude things, but I stayed calm and didn't give in and told her to talk to our principal (which she's already done, and I know the principal's not going to change her mind). Yay for not being the one in charge!
There's lots more I could say, but I'll stop for now. I need to buy a gift for a co-worker's bridal shower. And I need to keep working on my grad school personal statement. I'm finding it really challenging to sum up my experiences with Urban Promise. But I will continue to try...maybe over some BOGO Starbucks holiday coffee drinks. Yum, skinny peppermint mocha. It definitely puts me in the Christmas spirit. That, and the fact that two local radio stations are already playing Christmas music. And the Glee Christmas CD came out this week. Maybe that will be my gift to myself when I finish my applications! OK, now I'm motivated.
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