Friday, October 05, 2007

I Heart My Students






I truly Heart my students. I know I talk a lot about the problems of teaching, of education, and of my school; however, at the end of the day, I keep going back to teach. I love what I do. It makes me happy to have a positive impact on the lives of so many young people. I see so much potential when I look into their eyes. As Lauryn Hill once said, "[They] inspire me to be a higher me." Everyday I try to be a better teacher so that they can become better people/students.






The above picture was drawn by one of my former students. She's a brilliant student and an amazing artist. She's only a sophomore and she plans to attend UNC Chapel Hill. The picture is actually a sign and it hangs on the wall outside of my room, above my door. The other two pictures embody how I feel about my job. If you look close enough, you can see that the different squares (some rectangles) surrounding the Malcolm X poster are actually Me Squared. The students were supposed to put a picture of themselves in the middle and put words, images, and symbols that are significant to them around the outside of their picture. I placed their squares around Malcolm X's poster which features his famous quote: "We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." I believe that by any means necessary, I will educate my students to believe in themselves, their futures, and their worth. And they are the means, my weapons if you will, which I will use to fight a society which systematically tries to denigrate African Americans in our country.
Again, I Heart My Students:0)

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Did Teachers Take Noose Lesson Too Far?

Kindergarten teachers at Alma J. Brown Elementary, a Gramling State University run school, decided to use the Jena Six case as a teachable moment. The lesson involved nooses and link chains. Take a look at the video and decide whether or not the teachers took things too far.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Stop Making Hip-Hop the Scape Goat!!!

In light of the recent attention being paid to hip-hop, stemming from the Don Imus situation way back when, I decided to let people know how I really feel. Honestly, I do have a problem with the misogynistic lyrics and the minstrelsy of hip-hop, but I won't jump on the bandwagon of blaming hip-hop for the problems of the Black community (as if it is the only one).

I believe that today's educational system is more of an acidic force in our community than our music. Our youth are not receiving the education that they need and deserve. I really wish our so called Black leaders would channel some of their energy towards getting qualified teachers in low performing schools, getting supplies to students who can't afford them, getting computers in poor districts, upgrading school buildings that need to be condemned, closing the achievement gap, etc. I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that Jahmal, a 15-year-old gang banger, is committing crime because he heard Yung Joc say "if ya messin' with my money, ya messin' with ya life" or he heard some other violent lyric that I can't think of right now. Jahmal is probably robbing his neighbor because he reads at a third grade level and is bored out his mind in class because he doesn't want his classmates to know he can't understand what the heck is going on in The Odyssey. Our youth are becoming disconnected with school and are filling that void with things such as hip-hop music and crime, and the root of the problem is an educational system which isn't meeting the needs of our students. To take this argument in a different direction, some people may say that parents are the real root of the problems of our youth, which is also true, but I stopped blaming parents when I realized that some people are just bad parents, and we can't control that, but we can work to change our educational system. But I digress.

Hip-hop is a genre and the artists have a right to talk about what they feel and how they feel. They really aren't doing anything any different from any other genre. I think the problem is hip-hop has a stronghold on America, like no other, and it possesses more power than some of us would like for it to have. Also the problem is that we are trying to make these people into suitable role models/leaders. Everybody ain't cut out to be a leader. Being famous should not be equated with role model, and I don't believe that you have to be educated to be a leader (Fannie Lou Hamer is my favorite leader). Besides, its not the musician, its the listeners that we need to be concerned with. Artists produce what the people want to hear. Educate the people, change the artists. Don't try to change the artist to educate the people.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Students Get Pepper Sprayed


At the end of school today, a group of female students started fighting each other. I didn't see the fight because I was in my room and the fight took place outside near the buses (they almost made it home). As I was sitting in my room, I heard this commotion in the hallway. A female was yelling, "My EYES!!!! My EYES!! Somebody HELP ME!!!" I thought it was a fight and I ran outside my room because it sounded as if someone was seriously injured. When I got outside, I saw about 3 female students screaming about their eyes hurting and not being able to see. One student was on the floor wailing. I saw the school officers standing around and figured they had the situation under control.The scene reminded me of Oedipus Rex when he had gouged his eyes out. For some reason, I felt more sympathy for Oedipus than I did for the females screaming as if someone was pulling their eyes out of their sockets. It turns out the police officers had to pepper spray them to break-up the fight.

In retrospect, my lack of empathy for the young ladies bothers me. My initial feelings were, "They should not have been fighting at school anyways;" "That's what they get;" "Hopefully it will teach these kids to think twice before they get into a fight." Am I wrong for feeling this way? Should students be pepper sprayed? One teacher said, "The officers are too rough with the students." I didn't think they were too rough.

I have seen some serious take-downs by administrators and officers. It's kinda like a "by any means necessary" situation. Most students will not stop with a simple, "Hey there. Let go of that students hair;" or "Could you please stop stomping the mess out of this young man's face." In some situations, the students are injured (a female was slammed to the ground last year and scraped her head against the pavement--she had punched an assistant principal in the face, breaking his glasses while giving him a black eye) and in others, the adults are injured. What are we, as educators/school officials supposed to do? At some point, adults also have to think about their own safety.

What do you think?

Sunday, August 19, 2007

"You could have a heart attack . . ."

". . . and if your heart starts beating fast, you should call 9-1-1." That is exactly what my doctor told me at my annual check-up. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Definitely an eye-opener.
Dr. Bowen was referring to the issues with my thyroid. She was trying, not to scare me, but to help me realize the severity of my neglect to attend my doctor's appointment and take my medication.

See what had happened was, at the physical one has to get before entering college. I was told I have a hyperactive thyroid. My thyroid was monitored for about a year, and at that time, everything was ok and I didn't have any further appointments. Fast forward six years to my physical taken last year where they checked my blood. This time, my thyroid had gotten worse, the doctors found a goiter on my neck, prescribed a medication, and set up an appointment with a specialist.

Well, I started taking my meds, but then I read the side effects and decided not to take them anymore. I mean, I couldn't tell that my thyroid was bothering me, so why would I want to take this medicine and feel horrible? Then I canceled my appointment because I didn't want to get off work early. It was too much trouble (I am not a good patient). Plus my doctor at the time didn't make it out to be a big deal.

So 2007 rolls around and its time for my annual exam. I have a new doctor, Dr. Bowen. On my "List any concerns that you may have" section of the paper I had to fill out, I put that I had been experiencing extreme fatigue (Normally I would pass it off and blame my tiredness on teaching; however, I haven't been in a classroom since early June, and I have been so exhausted lately. I knew something must be wrong with me. Plus I'm always thirsty. I thought I had diabetes. It runs on both sides of my family). She looked at my records and said that it was probably related to my thyroid.

Then I confessed my lack of follow through with my last physical a year ago. Dr. Bowen had a look of concern on her face. She asked, "Did [your previous] doctor tell you how serious this is?" Meanwhile I'm thinking, "It's never that serious!" But I replied with, "No." Thats when she went into the "I'm not trying to scare you but . . ." She told me all these things that could happen to me, including sudden death, if I didn't take care of my thyroid. She added that thyroid issues go hand in hand with diabetes, and that if I wasn't careful, I would soon have that too. She also said that my thyroid would have to be even more carefully monitored if I ever got pregnant.

Needless to say, I start a new prescription next week. I go see the specialist in November. I am thankful for this visit. I appreciate Dr. Bowen's honesty because she made me realize the importance of this health matter, because before, I was rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

All in all, I am thankful for what I do have and also thankful for what I don't have. I sure am glad that I know Jesus, because if I didn't, I might would be a lil hysterical right now. I'm ok though. I was definitely taken aback by the news and I can't stop thinking about it. But I'm ok. Please keep me in your prayers.

One last thing, I advise that you go see a doctor on a regular basis. I know some people, especially black people, are apprehensive about doctor visits (I am guilty), but we all need a check-up at least once a year. Early detection can be a life saver. Just because you feel fine doesn't mean that you are fine. Please see a doctor when you can.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Fallen Angels



I recently finished reading Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. It was one of the options for my students to read as part of our literature circles. I hadn't read the book and thought that I should. It's about a young African American male, Richie Perry, who decided to join the Vietnam War upon high school graduation since his single mother didn't have enough money to send him to college. Rather than waste away on the streets of Harlem like so many of his predecessors, he decided to join the army.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It opened up my eyes to experiences to which our soldiers are currently having. While the book is fictional, I'm sure some of the events that take place are not too far from the truth. For example, in the book, the young soldiers are scared to death and operate in a self preservation mode, often making them a little over zealous when it comes to firing their weapons. On one occasion, a soldier started firing because he heard something and then the other soldiers, naturally, followed suit. Come to find out, they were firing on other U.S. soldiers, killing several of their own men.

On another occasion, a captain set off a flare that lit up the night air, revealing the position of the troops. Unfortunately, Charlie (a Vietnam soldier) shot and killed one of the soldiers. The captain felt extremely guilty and decided to write a letter to the deceased soldier's family, explaining how he was responsible for their loved one's death. A general read the letter, tore it up, and instructed Richie (the main character) to rewrite the letter, telling the family how the soldier had died as a hero, saving other's lives. Sound familiar?

Remember the NFL football player who left the league to defend his country? Pat Tillman, a former safety for the Arizona Cardinals, died while fighting in Afghanistan. His family, along with the rest of the country, was led to believe that Tillman's killing was "the result of a heroic firefight with enemy fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan;" however, his brother Kevin revealed that Pat had actually been killed by a fellow soldier. He chastised the army for the cover-up and challenged to the country to seek-out the individuals responsible for the lies.

And let us not forget Jessica Lynch who revealed that she was far from the hero she was portrayed to be. Who knows what other lies we are being fed? We only know what we're being told.

Again, Fallen Angels is a good read and I can definitely see parallels between the Vietnam War and the War on Terror. I have a new appreciation for our troops and I plan to have my students write letters in the fall

HBCU vs PWU . . . Can't We All Just Get an Education?

Recently I was having a conversation with my cousin Brandi about the state of today's educational system. Somehow the conversation switched to comparing and contrasting an HBCU vs a Predominately White University (PWU). Brandi attended NC A&T State University and I attended UNC-Chapel Hill. We were going back and forth about the black experience at both institutions and which one was better. Actually, I think I was mostly defending my experience at UNC as a valid one. However, at the end of the conversation she said that she would not trade her experience at A&T for anything and I certainly would not trade mine. We both received a good education; we both grew as women; we understand ourselves and the world better. Bottom line, why can't Black people agree that regardless of whether or not you decide to attend an HBCU or a PWU, you can still receive a good education and a quality Black experience. I am so tired of battling which is better. Can't we just be happy that more and more Black people are attending college and call it a day?

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Who deserves to die?




DeCarlo Polk, a class of 2007 graduate from Hillside High School, collapsed and died suddenly Wednesday, June 27th while playing basketball at his uncle's house in Tennessee. Resuscitation efforts by his uncle and the EMS failed to bring him back. Carlos, as we called him, was a role model student at HHS. He was an IB Student and was a member of the football team and Student Government Association (SGA). He was Homecoming King and he also received a football scholarship to play at St. Augustine in the fall. Carlos was a great kid who will be deeply missed.


My husband learned of his death from another teacher at HHS. Both KB and I knew Carlos, but he and KB were pretty close. KB was an SGA advisor and he taught Carlos in a leadership class. Carlos had already made plans to come spend time with us next fall since we live so close to St. Aug.


When KB told me what happened, we were both in disbelief. We hoped it was just a terrible rumor and maybe someone got their facts mixed up. I just didn't want to believe that this child had died suddenly. He was such a good person and he didn't deserve to die.


I kept thinking that he didn't deserve to die. In thinking about him and life and death, I questioned, "If he didn't deserve to die, who deserves to die?" Often when people die, you hear friends and family of the deceased give accolade after accolade of the person. And normally, people will add, "They didn't deserve to die."

Most people argue that bad people deserve to die, for example ones who have killed others or molested children. I don't think this is a good argument because bad people is very subjective. Who determines whether a person is good or bad? Plus if only bad people died, then there would be no room for repentance and forgiveness (I think I've talked about this on Rell's blog); therefore, Jesus' death would have been in vain and there would be no hope for changing one's life.


So who deserves to die? I guess no one deserves to die, but we should all be aware of the fact that death comes to both the good and the bad, to the young and to the old, to the saved and to the unsaved.

Cherish life because it is short and death can come to anyone unexpectedly.


R.I.P. Carlos

Friday, May 04, 2007

Old Enough. . .

This week I had a parent conference for a female student. The student, let’s calls her Jaime, is missing several assignments due to absences and currently has a low ‘D’ average. When I arrived at the conference, I saw Jaime, her mother, and her mentor.

I stuck my hand out to her mother to greet her, “Hi, I’m Mrs. Bullock.” Jaime’s mother, with a bewildered facial expression, looked to the left, to the right, then up and then down, in a quick motion.

She said, “Who are you?”

I replied, “Mrs. Bullock, Jaime’s teacher?”

“Teacher of what?” she questioned with sarcasm as she looked at me from head to toe. That day I was very dressed up. I was wearing a 3 quarter length black shirt with a dressy, colorful skirt I had bought from Lerner (actually New York & Company, but I remember when it was called Lerner), along with a pair of black shoes that had a nice heel to them. I looked very professional.

“I have Jaime for English.”

“How old are you?” she inquired.

I knew this question was coming. I could tell by the look in her eyes. I have been waiting for the next parent to ask me my age. See, I have a pretty young looking face and at first glance, many people think that I am a student (even though I feel that my dress sets me apart). Last year, I had several parents ask me my age and I told them. It always made me feel uncomfortable and young, especially if they asked me in the presence of my student. So I concocted a short quick phrase to which I would use as a reply the next time a parent asked me my age.

“Old enough to teach Jaime English,” I said with a smile. She shook my hand, and I sat down to talk business.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion. Part II

I did it. I traded in my truck. If you have been following my blog, you should recall that a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post titled, Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion (see below). Well, I did a little more research and decided to trade my truck in for a 2007 Honda Civic. Now, like most of my friends, you are probably thinking, "Well that is not a donkey!" However, compared to the loaded SUV I was driving, it is—kinda.

First let me explain why I didn’t get a used Honda. For those that don’t know, Hondas really hold their value. So while I was looking for one that was maybe 2 or 3 three years old (I didn’t want one that was too old with too many miles for maintenance reasons), I noticed that most were within a couple of thousand dollars of a new car. Why buy a used car when you can get a new one for almost the same price?

Also, when it comes to trading in a car, you have to figure your negative equity into the total buying price. When trying to purchase a used car, while trading-in a car that has negative equity, the dealer is not as willing to negotiate prices. So, take the price of the used car, add in your negative equity, and you basically have the price of a new car. On the other hand, a dealer is more willing to negotiate prices, giving more for your trade-in and taking more off the sticker price when purchasing a new car. Thus, this is the reason why I went with a new car rather than a used one.

I am very happy with my trade. I waved good bye to my truck, and I currently hold no regrets. My new car gets 30 miles to the gallon in the city and 40 on the hwy. My truck maybe averaged 12-14 in the city and 20 on the hwy. It cost about $60 to fill up my truck and about $30 to fill up my car. My monthly car payment is lower. Insurance is lower. And I traded in my truck right before my payment and property taxes were due (YES!!!).

While my car doesn’t look like a donkey, it is more practical, not as excessive, and it will definitely help me to continue to serve my purpose in life.

Less is more.

God Bless!!!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Do we really have freedom of speech?


Due to the recent national attention Don Imus has received for calling the Rutgers Women’s basketball team “nappy headed hoes,” and then being fired, I question whether or not we truly have freedom of speech. In a recent debate with one of my close friends, he argued that we are free to say what we want to say by law, but we must be prepared to face the consequences of our words. Very true. On the other hand, I argued that we have the optical illusion of freedom of speech because consequences, even though they are not institutionalized by the government, for our words do exist. But then, I caught myself, because in public schools, freedom of speech is limited. Teachers, by law, are not allowed to talk about certain subjects in a way that may persuade students to change their political, religious, etc views. Also, at work, people are not allowed to say whatever they want to people in regards to topics related to sex (i.e. sexual harassment lawsuits).

And again, my friend argued that in other countries, the law states that people do not have freedom speech, that they will be punished by law for speaking out, for example, against the government. However, Bill Maher was fired from his show Politically Incorrect , after saying, “We have been the cowards, lobbing Cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, not cowardly" in regards to the actions of the terrorists of 9/11 (wish I had said it last night). While he wasn't arrested for his comments, he was deemed unpatriotic and lost his job.

With all of this said, do we truly have the freedom of speech? Is there a difference when a country has a law against freedom of speech and when a country doesn’t, yet in that same country people are held accountable for what they say? What are your thoughts?

Monday, April 02, 2007

Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion.

At church this past Sunday, Pastor’s sermon was entitled, “The Donkey, the Dignitary, and the Disciple”. While I’m not sure of the actual message, he did make me think about Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem. The sermon came from Matthew 21: 1-7 (I won’t include it here, but rather challenge you to read it for yourself).

As pastor was talking, he asked, “Why would Jesus choose a donkey to ride into Jerusalem?” I think he even mentioned the word “ass” a time or two. As he talked, I drifted in and out of my own thoughts. What he really got me thinking about was the fact that Jesus rode a donkey. And those thoughts propelled my mind into analyzing how I’m riding.

Recently I’ve been thinking about my truck. I drive a red, 2005 Ford Sport Trac with leather seats, sun roof, four wheel drive, V6 engine, basically fully loaded. I wanted that truck every since it came out. And once I finally got my job, I went out and bought me a brand spankin’ new one. About a week ago, I went to fill it up; it cost me $49 and the tank wasn’t empty. All of sudden, I began to think, “Why in the heck am I driving this gas guzzler?” I began to ponder why I bought my truck in the first place. I knew it was going to take a lot of gas--was very conscious of that--but once I started paying for it, the reality really hit.

So I started thinking, maybe I should trade my truck in for another car. I always liked the Toyota Camry. So I went to look at the new Camry (this is a long story but it has a good message). While at the dealership, I was looking at what I could trade my truck in for and not receive a higher payment. I would save on gas money, considering my truck gets about 14 miles to the gallon and a Camry gets about 24. But when I saw what I would get if I traded my car in, I noticed that in order to maintain the same payment, I would have to lose the leather seats and sun roof and get a pretty standard car. In my mind I’m thinking, I would be downgrading. Then I started to think about my values.

As I was leaving the dealership, the salesman working with us walked us to the car. He pointed to my husband’s ride and said, “Is this yours?” KB replied, “Yes, I love my Altima (2006).” The salesman then said, “Don’t love your car. It depreciates.” Again I thought about my values.

So fast-forward back to the church service on Sunday. Jesus rode a donkey. The donkey got him to where he needed to go. It got the job done. He chose a donkey when he could have chosen any “more important” animal to ride. To Him, it wasn’t about how he was riding, but more about His purpose in what he was doing.

I have put and continue to put a lot of money into my stallion. All I need to do is to be able to get to work, where I serve my purpose in life as a teacher, and get home. I just need a reliable car. Had I chosen a donkey to ride, I could have more money to put in my savings, or more money to put towards my home (a true investment), or more money to pay back my school loans. Just think about how much money people put into cars: rims, tent, stereo systems, televisions, etc. All that money slowly but surely loses value. I mean I do understand that driving a nice car is a reward, a small pleasure for all of the work we do, but . . .

Jesus rode a donkey. Just something to think about.

Man vs. Nature

For those that don’t know, I teach English I to 9th graders. In class one day, we were reviewing literary elements for a big test. I divided the class into groups and each group received a literary element to which it had to act out. Meanwhile, the class had to guess the element being portrayed.

There was one group that I will never forget. It was three males. One male was standing tall, arms out like tree branches, head cocked to the side. So I figured he was a tree. One of the other group members walked up to the “tree” and went through the motions of unzipping his pants. I’m thinking, “What in the world is he doing? Should I stop this? What if he pulls his pants down?” Everything was just happening so fast, I couldn’t even speak. So the male student continued. He stood with his legs spread apart and began to urinate on the “tree”. Then the third group member walked onto to scene with an “axe” and chopped down the “tree”. The tree fell lifeless to the ground. Everyone in the class began to laugh. People started shouting out guesses.

“Setting!”

“Plot!”

“Imagery!”

The three boys shook their heads and the tree said, “Nope. Man vs. Nature.”

I almost died laughing.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Not Another Marcus Dixon!?!


For those that don't know, Marcus Dixon was an 18-year-old high school student athlete in 2003, living in Rome, Georgia. He had a 3.96 GPA and a full football scholarship to Vanderbilt University. However, in February of '03, he had consensual sex on school grounds with a almost 16 year-old white female. Her father found out and decided to bring rape charges against him. The jury acquitted Dixon of all rape charges, but due to a statutory rape law in Georgia, he was sentenced to an automatic 10 years in prison without parole. His case received national attention and he even completed an interview from prison with Oprah. Fortunately, after spending about 14 months in jail, his case went to the supreme court and was overturned.

I was very happy for Marcus, but unfortunately, another black male athlete has fallen victim to this terrible law in Georgia: Genarlow Wilson. Wilson, who was a 17-year-old high school football player, had consensual sex and oral sex with a 15 year old white female, who later claimed she was raped. The case went to trial and the defense attorney proved that "everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex." What?

Now this young athlete is sitting in jail for a 10 year sentence without parole. When will the madness stop? This is crazy! How many more black males are in jail for this same thing? Where is the justice? What can we do to help not only his situation, but the bigger societal issues revealed through the two cases mentioned here?

Free Genarlow Wilson!!!!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Not This Time!!

In one of my classes today, my students were working on family history projects. These projects required some research, and we were using wireless laptops in my room. My students were well aware of the fact that I do not allow them to play music aloud from their computers. So one student decided to try me today.

He started playing, "On the Hotline" by Pretty Ricky. All I heard was "Let's talk about sex baby." So I said, "Someone is about to lose his computer privilege if he doesn't turn his music off." Normally when I say this, after getting the attention he/she needed, the student will turn the music off and I don't have to make a scene. I guess this student wanted to be extra funny and he continued to play the music so that the whole class could here it: ". . . cause im home alone lustin' for ya im in my room nothin but a towel on take them granny panties off put a thong on i love it when i hear you moan you got that sexy tone." I went to his computer, muted it and began to take it away from him. He put his hands around the computer and said, "No please don't take it. I'll turn it off." Then in a real quiet voice, "Please don't. I'm having family problems." I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "No you're not. You told me that last time."

My student may very well be having problems at home, but it wasn't working this time. He knew exactly what he was doing. There are students who have behavior problems because of their home lives, but I wonder how many students take advantage of the idea that people will treat them differently based on their "hard-knock life." I will even go as far as to say that some students live up to the stereotypes about growing up black. For example, students hear "well you know his father is in jail," or "she comes from a single parent home," or "most young black males are unfairly being kicked out of class," or "young black women are prone to be promiscuous" and use those stereotypes as a scapegoat for their bad behavior. And with some teachers/people, they are allowed to get away with whatever.

I understand that we are all products of our environment, but at some point, we all have to be held accountable for our own actions. I truly believe that our young black males and females are being babied by some teachers because they are "poor little unfortunate black kids." This babying enables their inappropriate, often obnoxious, rude behaviors. And by the time they reach high school, they are Out Of Control!!

Can we please be in prayer for our youth and the people responsible for their education?

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Getting a Grip!!



My Sheepfold Ministry group at church is reading a new book entitled, "Getting a Grip--Finding Balance in Your Daily Life," by Bill Hybels with Kevin and Sherry Harney. The book is divided into 6 sessions: 1.) Getting a Grip on Your Life 2.) Getting a Grip on Your Schedule 3.) Getting a Grip on Your Body 4.) Getting a Grip on Your Finances 5.) Getting a Grip on Your Spiritual Life and 6.) Getting a Grip on Your Relationships. We're only on session 2 and the book has already provided an eye-opening experience for me.

In session one, the text asked the reader to create a pie graph portraying her life. When I created my pie graph, I noticed that my vocation took up 3/4 of my pie graph. This was no surprise to me. I know that my job consumes most of my time; however, what surprised me most was what I tried to squeeze into that last little 1/4 of my life. I had "family," "spritual growth," and "other." It was sad to me. I almost cried. I barely had time for my husband, my other family, myself, and most importantly, God. Fitness, friendships, hobbies, and recreation were not even an option on my circle. I really miss my friends, and sometimes I miss myself.

The text suggests reading Genesis 1:1-27 and asking yourself, "How do you see God creating order out of chaos in the account of creation?" The text also asks, "If human beings are created in the image of God, and God is a God of order, what do you learn about humanity from [Genesis 1:26]?" If God is a God of order, we need to be humans of order and not chaos. While my life doesn't seem chaotic, it certainly isn't well balanced. And in my mind, God is at the center of my life, but looking at my pie graph, it doesn't appear that way.

Bottom line, I am thankful to be going to these sessions and analyzing my life so that I can Get a Grip. As the sessions continue, hopefully I will have more inciteful things to share. I pray that each of you recognize how you are spending time in your life. Make sure that no matter what, God is at the center.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

The Audacity!!


Why did one of my students steal my MP3 Player? I was out one Friday and had to get a sub. The student went inside my desk and stole my Samsung MP3 Player ( I know I should not have left it there, but that’s another story). Fortunately, for me, an honest student saw him do it. On top of that, like most dumb criminals, he went around bragging that he had taken it out of my desk. When I came back, the honest student told me what happened. I told an administrator and he denied stealing it for about 3 days until we brought in his mom, the police unit, and charges.
Finally he confessed and the MP3 player was returned; however, it was not complete. When he stole it, it had my USB chord attached to it, but when he returned it, it did not have the chord. Apparently he lost it. So basically I have an MP3 player to which I cannot upload songs. I called his mom about the chord and she said he didn’t have it. I was thinking, “Well you need to replace it.”
But this ain’t even what I’m mad about. I’ve gotten over the fact that this [Beautiful child of God] stole my stuff--that was so November. What I’m really mad about is school started back this week. That very same student was listening to music through some sort of device in my class. I asked him to put whatever he had away or I would take it. I just so happened to look down and saw what was playing his music. In my head I said, “How did you get my MP3 player again.” Then I remembered, “Oh yeah, mine is at home.” Tell me why his mother (or somebody) had the audacity to go and buy him the exact same MP3 player he had stolen from me (I guess he got it for Christmas). I almost jerked it straight out of his hand, but the Holy Spirit . . .
I could not believe that someone bought that for him. What kind of lesson was he being taught? I mean he did get a 10 day vacation, I mean suspension, but still. That’s what’s wrong with kids today (well at least one thing). Many of them never really have to face true consequences for their actions. They do what they want to do without a conscience. We have got to start holding these students accountable.
And I’m done.