By this time on Thursday I'll be on my way to the airport. Ahh, it's just a few short days away, and if the week keeps going like today it will be just fine. I'm tired though, Mondays are notoriously difficult, and today I accidentally let myself go back to sleep when the alarm went off. Oops. It wasn't that bad, but I definitely was in a rush.
We're still teaching on the unit, which means I'm still packing and unpacking my entire carriage of art supplies, only to put them back on and off the cart again and again. I'm tired of it, but who isn't. Even though I'm not lucky enough to carry some worksheets down to the units, I know my peers are tired of not being able to use all the benefits of actually having a classroom. Desk, laptop, smartboard, a radio, tables, books and research materials, a white board. All of those things are definitely nice to have (and we do), but I guess it only proves the point that one can make anything work. Especially teachers.
I miss the atmosphere in my classroom. I'm lucky enough to have a whole wall of windows that lets natural light in. I have larger tables where students can spread out and work independently. I have a SINK! And all of my supplies. Plus, I like my classroom, postcards and pictures surround my students. It's colorful and bright. It's a "happy" place (ok I just got a bit schmaltzy). The bottom line is that the kids aren't getting the best education they could be getting. I don't believe in my heart that this is benefiting the detention program or reforming students in any way. I do feel like it's giving the trouble makers the power. The kids who are performing in the classroom everyday aren't the trouble makers here (they may be on the outside). The ones who are in the classroom enjoy being in school because they are getting better attention, learning more, and are proud of their achievements no matter how big or small.
So, what can I do? I can only suggest. We've already been told by the program director that the education program is secondary. Gee...thanks. I enjoy that already being a teacher in America.
I thought that we were moving towards a place where incarceration was going to be null and void for kids. I thought we were moving to more of a therapeutic program in which kids were treated holistically. Not just punishment. There's proof in the pudding that if you create a program that takes care of the whole child, and gives them ways to make achievement on their own, they'll be less likely to make it back this way.
More than ever I realize what a variety of kids we do have here. We do have dangerous kids, we have kids that steal, we have kids that run away, kids that do drugs, gangs, curfew breakers, assault, murder, rape... We see it all, but the thing is only a handful have access to mental health professionals. Most of these kids carry some huge issues in their own lives and don't have the opportunity to even begin the road to talking about it.
We happened to acquire a transition coordinator, and hopefully he'll be able to connect services to the kids when they get out. That seems to be going in the right direction. Now if only we could actually acquire a school counselor, a school social worker, and a full staff.
That's enough for now. I've ranted long enough for a Monday. There's a little sun today, so I'm going to try my best to make it out there and enjoy it. Although, I'll be getting plenty of it later this week. By the way, did you hear about the Vitamin D study? It's a study by some doctors suggesting the risk of breast cancer rises when you don't get enough Vitamin D. You can get Vitamin D by green leafy vegetables and some dairy products, supplements, and (of course) sun. So some doctors are actually saying everyone should be out in the sun for at least 15 minutes a day (during non-peak hours, of course). So sun is good (in a way).
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