Several Moments of Awesomeness

This was a good week at school. Unsurprisingly in retrospect, but still unexpected by me when I began, I am getting better at this job. I tend to be dramatic in my thinking, and also very black and white; if something is good, it's great, and it will always be great. If something is bad...well, you get the picture. As I grow older, this tendency is mellowing, but it still exists - especially during big life changes. So when I started this job and it was so incredibly difficult, I freaked out. I masked it well (something I used to not be able to do....I'm growing up!), but inside I was terrified and thought I was in for a year of hell. I didn't think I would ever grow to a place where I felt capable of teaching these children. Since then I've come to the conclusion that I am indeed in for an incredibly difficult year, but I can handle it. I have also realized that it will be a year filled with hilarious, loving, and interesting children who I find endlessly fascinating. (Seriously. To some people, 4-5 year olds are a pain in the neck, or else a little dull. I, on the other hand, am completely intrigued by their developing minds and personalities. Yes, they can be little monsters, but as a whole they are pretty darn neat. I actually prefer them to most adults. I'm working on that, though.) So, on the scales of life, the good side definitely outweighs the bad, and I am glad I am where I am.

Then again, ask me in 4 months how I feel. I might be a little too self confident right now. After all, I've only been working with 10-15 children, and I'll have in the mid-20s come the fall.

And now for the moments of awesomeness from this week.

#1: Affirmative Action - I am very thankful that the teacher I am paired with and I can talk openly about matters of race. It is an issue that we can't really ignore, seeing as how I'm the only white person in the school (other than the nurse, who doesn't really come out of her little room that much...or really ever...and when she does she's pretty mean). While talking this week, she mentioned that the staff had urged the principal to hire non African-American teachers, so the children could be exposed to other groups of people. I asked her if she thought I was hired because I was white, and she said maybe. Being the beneficiary of affirmative action = Awesome!

#2: Shake Hugs - The kids I work with are ALWAYS very affectionate, and love to hug me. They come up to about my waist, and earlier this week I started doing this thing where I would hold them and turn side to side. I didn't realize it was anything special, until T. came up to me a couple of days ago and said "Ms Balwin (they never pronounce the d), give me a shake hug!". Now I have several requests a day, and I am happy to oblige. Having my own personal hug = Awesome!

#3: Names - I received the list of students for our class in the fall and it includes many very amazing and wonderful names. My favorite by far, however, is: MYAMEE - pronounced like the city in Florida. That name = Awesome!

#4: Z. - what a complete nut-ball this girl is. She exasperates me every day, but makes me laugh hard several times a day too. If she's ever working or playing by herself, she'll start having this really intense conversation with herself, talking about God knows what, with facial expressions that are beyond description. I don't think I've ever met a kid who is funnier without trying to be. But goodness, she is a handful. Yesterday, though, she was absent, and I really missed her. I realized how much I enjoy being around her and seeing her quirky little ways. Z. = (pretty darn frustrating but) Awesome!

#5: Stickers - I LOVE STICKERS. Oh. my. gosh. These things are amazing. Let me explain. At my school, there are strict rules about walking in the hallways and stairwells. It is my job every morning to get my class in a line after breakfast and walk them out the door, through the hallway, up 2 flights of stairs, through another hallway, and into our room. Then, I must go through the whole process in reverse to take them down to lunch. They are expected to remain COMPLETELY quiet while in line, holding their hands in front of them, walking (NOT running or jumping down stairs). From the first day I started, this has been perhaps the hardest part of my day. I just couldn't get them to obey the rules. They were singing, dancing, jumping, fighting - doing EVERYTHING but walking quietly. I ordered, begged, pleaded, threatened, put in time-out, did everything I could think of to get them to behave. But my adorable little monsters were resistant to my feeble attempts. The other teachers definitely judge you by how well behaved your class is in the hallway...so I was getting pretty desperate. Then I went to Michaels and bought some stickers. I bought different animals that make no noise (or none that I am aware of) - giraffes, fish, ladybugs, turtles. This morning I flashed some bright, shiny ladybug stickers to the kids right before we left breakfast and their eyes lit up and their little hands reached to grab one. "Children", I said, "What sound does a ladybug make?" Some of them thought for a second or two. Some blurted out nonsensical answers that they hadn't thought about (this happens quite often). Then finally one brilliant little person said "no sound". "That's right! Ladybugs don't make a sound. I want you all to be little ladybugs. Whoever can be as quiet as a ladybug on our walk upstairs will get a sticker. But make a peep, and you won't get one." I explained that they had to follow all the hallway rules - walk, hands in front - as well as be quiet as ladybugs. And guess what? THEY WERE PERFECT. I mean, absolutely perfect. Each and every one of them got a ladybug sticker, and I was only expecting to give out a couple (and I wasn't being nice - each and every one of them earned that sticker). I thought it might be a fluke, so I tried again on the way to lunch, this time with turtles. AND THEY WERE PERFECT AGAIN!!! Oh praise Jesus! I hope it lasts forever and this sticker ruse works for the rest of my time as a teacher. Even if it doesn't, though, one day of perfect hallway behavior is an enormous blessing in and of itself (but please God - let it last!!!). I am aware that this kind of bribing might be frowned upon by some, but I am unapologetic. It works. And nothing else did. And so, STICKERS = AWESOME!!

So that's my update for this week. I'm going to end by giving you the entire list for my class in the fall. I'll be talking A LOT about these kids in the coming year, so get used to these names. There are a couple I already know from summer school, and they are pretty darn cute. A couple of them are also real stinkers, though. Actually, it's the cute stinkers who are the most difficult, because you have to work hard to not let their cuteness affect how you treat & discipline them. I'll definitely have my work cut out for me.

(NOTE: I have since taken the names out as I have determined that it's best if I not use their real names, for their protection and my own. But they are 26 great names!)

PS - I am taking a camera to work next week, so soon you'll get to see the faces that go with the names I've been talking about. YAY!!

PPS - I am going to go back and erase the name of the school I work at from my posts. I signed a privacy agreement, and I also just don't feel good about being too specific with the details on a blog.