My Students & Our Last Trip

Hello all!   As you all know, I am a teacher by day. Most of you probably don't know that I teach a remedial reading class. It is a tough job, filled with many many many days of banging my head against the wall. I've actually contemplated buying stock in Tylenol and Excedrin. If you know anything about education, then you also know that I don't do it for the money!!! I can honestly say that I do it for those moments when the light bulb goes off and you see the student get the process and gain understanding... for some for the first time! It is an amazing experience.   Since taking over my room, I have tried to bring in my outside the box thinking and tried to shake it up a bit. What I mean by that is to get the kids out of their comfort zones and to experience things that they have never been exposed to before. I have taken them on College tours, to the theater, and to baseball games. Each of them has a different reaction to each experience, but I can honestly say that each of them has come out of each experience with something. Most have gone into it with blinders, but have come out wanting more. This year has been no different.   In December I took them to see "A Christmas Carol" after reading the play. For those who were with me the year before they looked forward to it. It was like pulling teeth with my new kids, to get them to go. Once we boarded the bus after the show... the kids were actually comparing their favorite scenes without prompting. On Monday we tried something new again. Now as I said my students are below grade level in reading and I teach middle school. For the past month we have been reading "The Hot Zone". It is about the Ebola outbreak in Reston, VA and is the basis for the movie "Outbreak". Needless to say, this is actually normally read by AP HS Biology students and science majors in college. Since this book is about the biological aspect of primate research, I took my students to the Duke Lemur Center, which deals with environmental and behavioral research. It was an amazing trip. As usual every student learned something new and enjoyed their time there. The researchers did a great job describing what they did at the facility and even how it related to what we were learning in class.
   I guess what I'm trying to get at are two things. First I need to send a huge shout out to the Duke Lemur Center and the work they do there. If you are ever in the area, you need to go on one of their tours. It is amazing to say the least. Secondly I need to tell the world how wonderful my kids really are. I'm sure you don't want to hear it, but most of my kids have been pushed through a system that didn't know what to do with them. Some have been told they are stupid by parents and teachers. Along the way, they learned that saying I can't is okay. They've found that negative attention is better than no attention at all. Well I'm here to say... give them a chance. They are looking for someone to believe in them, even though at first they won't know how to react to it. With a little extra guidance, some tough love, and the occasional shoulder, they will go to battle for you and give you their best effort. In doing so, they will surprise themselves and learn, slowly but surely, what success is. It becomes contagious and grows amongst them. Sometimes we just need to open the door for someone and hold it open for a minute longer.