give it a shot!

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Home : 2005 : December : 28

give it a shot!
By teachfla

Please, please consider staying for a year or two. These kids are hard to teach, they can act crazy, and you go home drained. I know, I teach them too. But when you teach a child the value of doing his homework even though
no one at home will bother to look at it (and he is crazy proud of himself!), or when one of your "crazies" is FINALLY starting to get it together, or when one kid gives you a hug and tells you he/she loves you and you KNOW they mean it -- gosh! That's what makes my life worth living! You are obviously a gifted teacher, please think about what you could do for these kids!

It's

not really as different as you think. You have to run a tight ship discipline-wise for a while until trust is established. Teach them everything you taught the well-to-do kids. Expect nothing less than the best. My experience is that most of the kids will (eventually) rise to the challenge. You just have to do a lot of background building. Talk a lot about the value of education, learning, reading, questioning. You have connections -- use them to get the materials these kids need. Take them places you would ordinarily take for granted (library, zoo, museums, the beach!)

There are hard days, I won't lie. You've seen the abject poverty that walks in your door. You'll deal with crazy parents who can't help their kids due to their lack of education, you'll agonize over children being taken by DCF (my absolute WORST days), you'll be frusterated when they STILL don't get it after 3 different lessons on 3 different days. But when they FINALLY get it, it just somehow means more.

I promise you that if you take on this challenge (and it is a challenge!) you will be rewarded a million times over. Please consider just opening up to the possibilities!