Teaching

Today, I almost had a revolt on my hands. Or was it a bunch of students "having cows?" I'm not sure, but whatever it was, they did not like the announcement that I had to make. The normal science teacher is being forced to come back. On top of that, she is being forced to come back in the middle of the semester. Now, I am not saying that I am a better teacher than her, but c'mon, my students are used to my teaching. It is not a smart thing to change up the teaching style in the middle of the semester, especially for the students.

I made the announcement in both classes and all them couldn't help but groan, complain, and whine about it (which is ok). There is really nothing that we can do. Many of them said, "Oh no, now I'm definitely gonna fail!" They think that the other teacher will not understand them like I do. So, let's get into a little bit of my history.

I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood and I loved it! I had no concept of race until I came back from my first day of kindergarten. I had been playing with all the kids in my neighborhood without one single thought that they were different. As far as I was concerned, we were all just kids. I think school can ruin a child's innocent concept of the world. Now, I am a hard strung advocate for school, so don't get me wrong here. The first thing I told my mom when I got home after that first day was, "Mommy, did you know that Keylan was black?" Absolutely hilarious!

My first real card game was "tunk" and I only knew how to play rough-out basketball. Needless to say, I was useless in a "rules" game of basketball. I would foul out so quick because I was used to a game where we could hit, punch, and foul out whenever we wanted. I played tackle football in the field across the street. We played Ninja turtles with all the neighborhood kids. I always wanted to be Michaelangelo, but since I was the only girl, I always had to be April (boo!). My first "peck" of a kiss came from a little black boy after I, April, had been captured by "Shredder."

Unfortunantely, things changed. Jamal down the street started dealing drugs. Wesley got shot. Ronnell got put in jail after he robbed a convience store. Keylan started having kids at 14. It was sad, but that was the stereotype of the day, and most of the kids I grew up with fell right into it. By the end of our time in the neighborhood off of Granite Street, I didn't even feel comfortable going to the door from the car. Gunshots didn't phase our family anymore. The first time my fiance' visited our house, he about had a cow when he heard two different guns go off. The fact that I could identify it was two different guns was frightening.

Well, with this background, you can only imagine how well I actually can relate and understand my students. This is, perhaps, the reason why they enjoy having me as their teacher. I not only teach them Science, but I strive and push them to succeed. This is the ultimate job of a teacher.

I can only pray that I can finish out the semester with these students. I do not want them to fail and I will do everything I can to get them to succeed. Probably one of the best incentives I have ever come up with is putting the names of the students who have made at least one 'A' on one of my tests up on the bulletin board outside my classroom. As one student said over the summer, "It took me 26 years to get up on the board." Even today, one of my students made her first 'A' on the test and started celebrating about her name getting up on the board.

Teaching is rewarding, and I never thought I could be good at it. I attribute my gift's development to God, my mom, and my college teachers. Without good teachers, I would have never known how to reach the most students that I can. I pray for my students by name and I know that they have it in them to succeed!