Anyone who knows me can testify that my faith is extremely important to me. I would not be who I am and could not do what I do without God. On Sunday, the homily was about the need to forgive and love those who are the HARDEST to love. I was convicted and still am convicted because I am struggling with this issue right now.
I've had a student who has been mad at the world since August. This student hates me, hates most adults, is defiant, is rude, and gets under my skin like no student I've ever had. Ever. In ten years. I've had a lot of difficult students in my ten years of teaching, but I've never met one who I couldn't connect with. Until now. I feel like I'm running into a brick wall. Nothing I say or do is right. I'm pretty sure I've been shot with daggers, and it's taking everything I have right now to be the professional adult in this situation. It's testing me as a Christian, and I'm failing miserably. Deep down I know there's a hurt child inside all that anger, insolence, and hatred. I'm just having a hard time seeing it.
Living your life according to God's law is a challenge sometimes, and I'm losing epically. I know I can't change this student, but I can change my attitude. So I'm going to pray about this and would appreciate prayers from my fellow brothers and sisters. I don't expect it to happen over night, but I know it will happen with God's help.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
A Note on Creativity
Last week one of my students said something pretty profound, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Anyone who knows me well knows I'm creative. I love painting, drawing, exploring different music, decorating, writing, taking pictures, and playing with fashion. My classroom has so much color and there are tons of quotes, pictures, shelves of books, posters, and student work. I hate anything dull. With a passion.
Clearly, my creativity trickles into my teaching. I try to think of really different performance tasks because I want my students to think outside the box. However, I never really considered how someone who thinks s/he lacks creativity might feel like one of these assignment is impossible to accomplish. The student I was writing about earlier told me that "your brain is all rainbows and color and pictures and stuff. And mine, mine is grey. I don't think like you." I literally stopped in my tracks and saw two things: how right he was and how sad it was that he thought he lacked creativity. Or that he associated creativity with color, rainbows, and things that glitter.
Creativity is everywhere. It's in our instagram photos, the selfies people take (this is a talent, I swear!), people's clever and witty tweets, their writing, their thoughts, the clothes they wear, their cover photo on FB, their cooking and drinking. It's endless. The thing is, so many people think they're dull and boring and have nothing to bring to the table of creativity. It's just not true. Our creativity might not look the same, but it doesn't mean we don't have any. Are some blessed with more than others? Yes. But we do a disservice when place ourselves in a grey little box, only find validation on a scantron sheet or standardized test, or a myriad of other "safe" places to express our knowledge.
I also have to recognize that I need to provide different options for my students that they feel comfortable with and gradually provide those students with opportunities to practice being creative. I need them to feel safe before they put it all on the line on a large assignment.
On that note, I'm going to return to thinking about rainbows and pictures, and apparently lots of color :)
Clearly, my creativity trickles into my teaching. I try to think of really different performance tasks because I want my students to think outside the box. However, I never really considered how someone who thinks s/he lacks creativity might feel like one of these assignment is impossible to accomplish. The student I was writing about earlier told me that "your brain is all rainbows and color and pictures and stuff. And mine, mine is grey. I don't think like you." I literally stopped in my tracks and saw two things: how right he was and how sad it was that he thought he lacked creativity. Or that he associated creativity with color, rainbows, and things that glitter.
Creativity is everywhere. It's in our instagram photos, the selfies people take (this is a talent, I swear!), people's clever and witty tweets, their writing, their thoughts, the clothes they wear, their cover photo on FB, their cooking and drinking. It's endless. The thing is, so many people think they're dull and boring and have nothing to bring to the table of creativity. It's just not true. Our creativity might not look the same, but it doesn't mean we don't have any. Are some blessed with more than others? Yes. But we do a disservice when place ourselves in a grey little box, only find validation on a scantron sheet or standardized test, or a myriad of other "safe" places to express our knowledge.
I also have to recognize that I need to provide different options for my students that they feel comfortable with and gradually provide those students with opportunities to practice being creative. I need them to feel safe before they put it all on the line on a large assignment.
On that note, I'm going to return to thinking about rainbows and pictures, and apparently lots of color :)
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