We Love You Stanley

Teaching really has given quite a bit of insight into what it means to be a parent. While it is only a snippet of time, you really get to understand all of the things that a parent really has to do, think, say, etc. Just like parents aren't perfect, teachers are not either. I don't always say the right thing or respond the right way but it is comforting to know that my students still love me. I never imagined high schoolers to be the mushy type but I am often overwhelmed at the amount of hugs and "I love you Stanley"s that I get on the daily basis. Sometimes it is after I have gone off on them for not acting like they should, sometimes after I have been extremely generous with work, but a lot of times it is really random. I am not always proud of their actions but each day I learn something about them that makes me more and more eager to see the adults they will become. Ever since our coming to Jesus meeting, things have not been as difficult but that could also be credited to shorter class periods lol. Now if the real adults could organize and communicate THAT would make things a WHOLE lot better. Watching this school shows me a lot of things I would do differently if I were running my own school. Its all with the details. The big picture is the easy part, it is those small things that you don't make time to think about that end of becoming the things that can tear down the structure of what you thought was something properly designed. So I am making mental notes so that when it is my turn, I can make a few less mistakes than what I have witnessed.

On a side comical note: The kids order snacks from the cafeteria but they can not go into the cafeteria (long stupid story) so I retrieve their orders for them. The high schoolers wear white polos and black pants/ shorts. I am typically in a tie, dress short, slacks, and loafers. To date, I can only think of two days I dressed semi-casual (one day with just a polo and tan slacks; another with jeans, blazer, and a bowtie). So today I go to pick up the order and one of the cafeteria lady stops me and says "Can I ask you a personal question?" Of course, my mind is running all over the pass trying to guess what she is going to ask me. I say "Sure". She says, "How old are you?". Again, I'm throwing her a slick sideeye because I have no idea where this conversation is about to go. So I respond "23". Well as I come to find out, this lady has been assuming that I was a student and that somehow I had special privileges over the other kids lol. I can't seem to shake my boyish good looks but I guess that is nothing to complain about. lol. I need to start wearing a nametag especially when I start taking them on field trips. Folks will just think I'm a teenager who just goes HAM on my friends when they act out. lol