Family Friday

One of my favorite times of the day is in the afternoon between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.  This is when I leave work and go gather my chickens a.k.a. Tino, Mateo, and Sarah.  I have always had that "mother hen" instinct.  (And I can confirm "always" because over the past month I have been reading my journals from high school, college, and my mission.  One of the common trends I notice is that I want to take care of others or make sure everyone else is a.o.k.)

Anyway, Tino has been going to school with me in the mornings and he waits for me after school so I can take him home.  Then we go and pick up Sarah at her sitter's house and Mateo at the YMCA.  We get home and although it's borderline crisis-ish . . .(kids are STARVING, homework needs to be done RIGHT NOW, baseball or basketball practice started 15 minutes ago, etc.) . . .  I feel so good that my kids are with me.  Safe and sound.  And they have survived yet another day out in the world. 

Although I work at a school in a middle-class neighborhood, the life experiences that many of my students have had leave a LOT to be desired.  I have a group of students that are naughty.  They are not so naughty that they spend more time out of my class by serving in-school suspension and out of school suspension, but they are on the borderline.  They haven't quite decided if they want to be "good" or "bad".  Well this group of students started getting into trouble.  A LOT.  While in my class.  And when they get into trouble, it highly inconveniences me and my life because then I get to give them detention. 

Come to find out, they were getting into trouble ON PURPOSE so they could get detention and hang out with me during lunch time because I am the "cool teacher" and the "fun teacher".  The things they talk about when they come to my room are HORRIFYING to say the least.  I have a new speech for them.  I tell them they need to focus on their school . . . get a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, well-paying job . . . and THEN when they are around 25 years old they can begin dating and have a boyfriend/girlfriend.  I want to be the strict teacher that teaches them more than they have ever known in their entire lives and the teacher that makes a positive impact on their lives.  Cool?  Fun?  UGH!!!!!!!!    

I put the KABOSH on detention.  I told them that from now on, if they got into trouble in my class they would have to go serve detention elsewhere.  "But we want to hang out with you . . ." was their reply.  So then I told them if that's what they want, then they have to be good.  And they have to choose good friends and make good choices during the school day.  They want to eat lunch with me EVERY DAY.  But I told them they can eat lunch with me one day every other week as a privilege and not as a punishment. If they don't get into trouble during the day with the other teachers, they can come to my class at the end of the school day for 10 minutes until the last group of students has been dismissed.  So now everyday after school, I have 12-13 students come to my class. 

Back to my mother hen instincts.  These students have MESSED up home lives.  I can't change that, but I can provide a "safe haven" for them when they come to school.  Likewise, now that I have seen WITH MY OWN EYES exactly what kind of influences and what kind of environment is out there that my children have to deal with EVERY SINGLE DAY of their lives . . . it has encouraged me even more to provide a SAFE HAVEN for my children within the walls of our home.  Family prayer, scripture study, FHE, wholesome recreational activities . . .  It's baby steps, but I hope that I can provide a firm gospel foundation for my children so that during those 8-10 hours every day when they are away from my presence, they can choose the right and be able to CLEARLY distinguish between RIGHT and WRONG. 

I love you Tino, Mateo, and Sarah!!!!!