Rough Day

April 12 is a day that forever sticks in my mind. On this day 6 years ago I lost my paternal grandmother. This is a woman who was the matriarch of our family. She was a fireball of energy and opinions. She is the woman who practically raised me as a child. I will forever be indebted for her love, care, and compassion for her family. I still think of her daily. There have been times where I have picked up my phone and dialed her phone number. Then, in an instant of sadness,  I realize she is gone. I miss you, Rella!

Today was a rough day at school.

I have a student named Chris who is an awesome child. He is always such a happy kid, always smiling and cracking jokes. I definitely enjoy having him on our team. Today was very uncharacteristic of Chris. He came into class and didn't say a word. I noticed that he was sitting quietly at his seat for the majority of the period. (Again, not like him at all!) When we began our partner work he chose to work alone. It was obvious that something was wrong...painfully obvious!

I took a moment to sit at my desk and check my school email. I call Chris over to my desk and quietly ask him if he was okay. I told him I noticed that something was obviously bothering him. He hung his head and said he did not want to talk about it. I assured him that was okay, but I would be here if he decided he needed to talk. At that point Chris began to cry. I was shocked by this. I led him to the hall so the other students would see him crying.

When we got to the hall, Chris turns to hug me and is sobbing uncontrollably. Something was terribly wrong with Chris. He finally tells me that his parents were getting a divorce. They only told him last night. I just stood there for a moment while Chris just cried. I told him that I will be here for him if he needs to talk about this. I let him know that my parents divorced when I was 5, so I definitely know what he might be going through.

All of this brought back some hard memories from my parents' divorce. I remember the pain I went through as a child. Like most children, I blamed myself for their divorce. It took a very long time for me to get past all of those emotions and feeling that came from their divorce. I can only only imagine the thoughts and fears running through Chris' head. I also worry about his sister whom I taught just a few years ago.

I know that divorce happens more and more each day. It is not easy for anyone, but it is substantially worse on kids. I feel for these kids!

Where's My Duct Tape?

Sometimes I am ashamed by the legislators in the state of Tennessee. There, I said it! 

I just read a bill that will go to the Senate Education Committee this week that, frankly, offends me. There is a bill (SB049), referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that would not allow anyone in elementary or middle schools to provide "any instruction or material that discusses other sexual orientation other than heterosexuality."

Essentially, that means that we cannot even discuss the meaning of the word GAY. 

What the heck is going on here? I realize that I live in a very conservative state in the Bible Belt of the United States. I realize that the majority of people in this state may have a negative view of homosexuality.

As a teacher I have a real issue with this. It has become apparently clear that bullying is consistently on the rise in this country. One of the biggest bullying scenarios happening in schools today is kids being picked on because of their perceived sexual orientation. If this bill pases, we, as educators, will be unable to deal with any matters that deal with sexual orientation in elementary or middle school.

For example, our guidance counselors taught a lesson on bullying just a few months ago. As part of their lesson, they addressed the phrase "That's so gay." It really is something our kids are saying. Our counselors showed the commercials below.

Under this proposed law, even using that material would be against the law. We will not be able to discuss or teach about situations that ARE happening everyday in our elementary and middle schools. 

The proposed law says that particular subjects (such as homosexuality) "are best explained and discussed in the home." The only problem with that is some subjects will never be discussed or explained in the home. As a teacher, I present material in a non-biased and non-judgmental manner. 

An educated population is far more productive and accepting than an uneducated one...just saying! 

Songs of my Hometown

A friend of mine posted this on their Facebook the other night. It is a song someone wrote about my current hometown.

Granted, it is not the greatest song, but I just had to smile that someone would write a song about the place where I live. I even recognize some of the faces in the video. 

Just wanted to share! 

Who's Calling?

I have never done this before, but curiosity is getting the better of me this week! On my blog page, I keep a tracker just so I can see where visitors to the blog site are hailing from. It is fascinating to see.

Over the past week or so I have been seeing a slew of visits from someone in Billings, Montana. There are lots of them. Believe me, I am not complaining. I welcome the reader!

I am just chomping at the bit to know who the person is. If you are willing to identify yourself, I would love to know about you. I have made some phenomenal friends through blogging! However, if you choose to stay anonymous that is perfectly understandable. (My email is listed on my profile page.)

Like so many of my friends out here in the blogosphere...we are here to help!

There is Hope

Saw this today, and it brought a tear to my eye.