Sorry it's been so long...
The last few weeks have been crazy and I have had neither time, energy nor motivation to write on here. Okay, so the last you knew was that there was a possibility that one of the teachers would leave PROMESA. Sadly, that happened, for reasons beyond anyone's control. It was hard to see her go. We're hoping she'll be able to come back next year and teach again. 2 days before Luz left, Leo walked in off the street, said he'd heard that we were looking for a teacher and wondered when he could schedule an interview. It just so happened that Ron had free time right then (some sort of minor miracle), so they did the interview on the spot. To make a long story short, we now have a new third grade teacher and Ron has some male companionship on the teaching team.
The downside to Luz leaving (besides the fact that she isn't here anymore) is that it was very hard for the kids. Because of all the uncertainty that accompanied her leaving, the students didn't actually even know until the morning of her last day. I think that made it even harder for them. They expressed a lot of feelings of rejection, fear, anger, sadness, and insecurity over the days following her leaving. Some of those feelings came out in increased measures of bad behavior. The first week was the worst and they've been gradually getting better since then.
I think it's been a combination of many things that have made the last few weeks difficult. The middle of the year has come and gone. Things that have been bugging me over the last few months (talking in class, not doing homework, playing with things in their desks during class, etc) have built up to a frustration level. One of my students has some emotional and behavioral needs that are beyond what I can help in the middle of class with 20 students. I'm spending a lot of time working and planning. I'm tired.
And yet, in the middle of all this, I have found God's grace to be so great. I have been amazed and in awe of it so many times. I have been finding new depths of grace as I need more of it. And it has been beautiful.
This past week has been easier. I had a very relaxing weekend. I got a lot of exercise, which felt good. I got a guitar, so I've been playing and worshipping with that this week. And then, on top of that, on Monday and Wednesday, there was a transportation strike and we didn't have school either day. Those two days, I had some time to spend with friends and get some things done. And I had a break from nixy kids. So I am feeling better and I feel like I have more hope.
September is here. And with it comes the rainy season and the coming of spring. I felt today like maybe with the coming of a new season outside will come a new season in the classroom as well.
So I will keep pressing on and living in the middle of God's grace, learning more about Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment