First Day of Class

So monday was my first day of class, might I remind you that every person I have talked to has given me the oooo and ohhh every time I tell them where I'm going for my student teaching.  So little white girl from the country did not know what to expect.

To start off the day this small town girl parked in the front of the school and went to walk up to the front of the door just to be stopped by a lady
 "Can I help you?"
"Ummm ya today is my first day of student teaching is this not the door I'm supposed to go in to?"
"No usually the teachers park on the side of the building and walk in that way, this is for the walkers and the kids who get dropped off."

Awesome, ha I fail again...

Walking into the school I was instantly outside again, what is this?!  All of the classrooms were in seperate indoor rooms but the "hallways" were outdoor courtyards!!  Crazy!

I finally get to the right spot and a young gentlemen shows me to my room.  My cooperating teacher is from Iowa!  I instantly feel at home.

She introduces me to the other teachers throughout the day and come to find out many of the teachers are from the north and so nice : )  (Stephanie is the only white girl in the school she's at, so I was relieved!  I got home that night to tell her how my day was and how I wasn't the only white person in the school; "What are you kidding me!  I got poo thrown at me today!"  Ha ha oh how I love her)

Then at 8:00 we head down to a different courtyard to send kids through the metal detectors.  5&6th graders need to be sent through metal detectors! Wow this is all so new to me.  The school is run like the military it seemed.  Everyone has to wear uniforms.  They have to walk in single file lines, with their left foot on the black line in the courtyard and against the walls to and from the courtyards.  So every time they leave a classroom this is what goes on.  The flow of traffics always goes counter clockwise so if a kid forgets something they have to go all the way around the courtyard to come back.  And there is absolutely no talking in the courtyard to and from class until you are in the classroom and a teacher gives you permission to talk!!  Ha I would have been in trouble all of the time if I went to this school!!

After twenty minutes of this we head back to the classroom were we sat and chit chatted talked with other teachers, listened to some gossip and ate lunch.  Then at 11:10 is when the real fun began!

There were 6 classes from 11:10-4 and in each one I introduced my self to the kids, all fifth graders but different ages depending on if they were held back or not.

The most common questions they would ask me are:
How long did it take you to get here?  21 hours "Woah thats a long time!"
Is Minnesota cold?  Ha yes it gets to be negative degrees and the snow can sometimes get as high as this table!  "Woah!"
Do you have kids?  Ha ha no
How old are you? 22  "Wow your really young for a teacher."
Do you have a boyfriend?  No
My favorite conversation about this with these two little girls:
"Why not?"
 "Ahhhh because I did and right now I don't want one/haven't found the right one."
"But miss, don't you want to get married?"
"Yes someday but not right now."
"Poor lasito."
Not sure of the spelling but apparently means "I'm sorry."

Ha ha great now I have little kids feeling sorry for me because I'm single, thats just great.

My other favorite question is the kids asking if me and my teacher are sisters, because we are both white they think we are related : )

My favorite thing about the kids is that they always call you miss.  I think it's adorable!  Also they all love the attention and most of them have a great sense of humor. Of course I love them already : )

What saddens me is that many of them come from really bad home situations either it's abusive families, they are in foster care, moving from place to place, involved in gangs (yes apparently at this age they can be involved in gangs new to this small town white girl!) family members in and out of jail, parents selling drugs, parents selling their children's medication, parents getting sent to prison (a girl just today came into school off the bus and said to one of the teachers, "Miss I don't feel too good my mom just went to jail last night.")  Talk about heartbreaking.  And the saddest part is when it all carries over to the kids and its all they know and think that this behavior is normal.  In this 5th & 6th grade school some are involved in gangs, some have been caught for selling drugs, some for doing drugs, and many kids have a problem with stealing.

I feel like this is the place I am supposed to be.  Their is such a need for love and caring in this school, you can see it in the children's eyes.  I know I am only here for 6-7 weeks and the hurt in this place is overwhelming, but hopefully somehow somewhere I can bring a little light to these kids.  I hope I can bring something to them that they will remember when they leave the fifth grade and when life gets rougher to know that they are special and have a chance to be the person that they want to be and that their path isn't self determined.  I hope I can bring something like that to them, make some sort of difference somewhere in these hearts and minds.  I might never know or ever see it, but I hope it's there...