eye opener.

So, in January I started my new teaching job at a Kindergarten through 4th grade school in Peoria. I'm absolutely LOVING it so far! I get to spend my day with 1st through 4th graders giving one-on-one and small group instruction and help with reading, math, writing, and other areas that the they are struggling with. It excites me so much to hear these kids' talk about their lives, encourage them, watch them grow and learn, and see them become more confident in themselves. Not to mention, I get about a million hugs a day!:) 

There are definitely challenges though... Over half of the kids at the school are from low income homes and qualify for free lunch, while some are from pretty hard backgrounds and home lives... Last Friday, I had a pretty big eye opener... My cell phone came up missing.  At first I just figured I'd misplaced it (standard Bethany procedure), but after some extensive searching I realized it had been stolen when I wasn't in the room (which by the way, my phone was in the side pocket of my teaching bag, in the corner, under my coat)... I felt a little violated. I'd had candy taken before, but I would have never dreamed something like this would be an issue in a primary school. Naive me... 

So anyways, the principal, a few other teachers, and I spent a chunk of our afternoon searching kids' bookbags, coats, and pockets. Finally, a 9-year-old was caught with the phone as he was trying to slip it into one of his friend's coat. At first I was kind of frustrated because I thought I was going to have to drop another few hundred dollars on a new phone (which I just did a few months ago), then I was thankful it was found, and then I was just kind of sad for the boy... A NINE year old... stealing already. 9! It was just really discouraging. I mean, we can teach kids their spelling words, multiplication facts, and correct grammar, but how much does it really matter if they don't know or care to do the "right" thing?...

After he'd been yelled at and suspended, he was sent to my room to apologize and write sentences. I didn't even want to scold him as much as I just wanted to talk with him and help him to understand why it was wrong. I really had no idea what to say.... So I asked him what was something that he had at home that he really liked. He told me he loved playing his GameCube, so I did the best that I could to try and relate it to how he'd feel if someone stole his GameCube and he couldn't play video games anymore... After talking about it a while, a tear rolled down his cheek and he told me that he'd be really sad. So the best way I could relate my feelings to this nine year old's, was to tell him that was how I felt too. 

I have no idea what kind of home this boy came from, but he obviously had to have learned this somewhere. I mean, how can I teach kids to want to do the right thing if their heroes, role models, and people they look up to... dads, moms, brothers, sisters, friends, whoever... just, DON'T... ?

I have NO idea.