The stuff ulcers are made of...

I've cried a lot more this school year than I have any other year. That sounds a little weird, but its been a rough year. Knowing that you are notable to help your students causes undue stress, which can cause ulcers. Hence, the physical pain I'm in often. This was my day yesterday...

I have a student in my class who came in crying like crazy. His brother (who was in my class last year) got his arm caught on a wire at the top of a fence and ripped his arm open. No blood, but the muscle wasn't attached anymore. This kid is normally chatty, unbelievably chatty, but he didn't even cry. I think he was in too much shock. He ended up getting rushed to the hospital. It took 35 stitches to reattach everything. He's doing ok, but his siblings (there are 5 at the school) were so scared. I feel terrible when I can't fix things for them.

I also get ulcers because of dumb parents. I've had a girl in my class complaining of a toothache for the last 2 weeks. It got to the point where she cried and couldn't do her work. She could only focus on the pain. I called her mother at work to let her know of the problem and if she could bring her something for the pain. Her mother sounded so put out, but guessed she could send step-dad over on his lunch break.

Starting Friday of last week, this same girl has been coming to school with a swollen face. Now, I know the picture is not my 10-year-old student, but I wanted to show an example of what her face looked like. Please tell me, if your child's face was this swollen, would you take her to the doctor or dentist? Not this mom. This girl game for another week. I told my student she needed to go to the doctor. She told me, "What's the doctor gonna do anyway? Besides, it's too expensive." That's not 4th grade talk. That's parent talk.

Finally, I peeked in her mouth. She had a huge bubble in her mouth connecting her gums and cheek! I talked to the school counselor, who called the school nurse. She checked my student out and called her mom right away. The nurse told her she had to go home and could not come back until she had a doctor's note. The nurse told me that is as an abcessed tooth and if it wasn't taken care of soon, it could effect her ear canal, her brain, or even her heart!

Her mom came and picked her up without saying a word. No "I'm sorry honey" or "Hello" or "We're gonna get you taken care of." Nothing. She signed her out, turned and walked away with her daughter trailing behind her. Did I mention She's pregnant again? She doesn't want to take care of the children she has, but wants another one?

I expected her to be out for the weekend. I mean, it took her mom two weeks to even be somewhat concerned. I was worried about this girl. If she wasn't back by Wednesday, I was going to call DCFS and report neglect. My student showed up today, on time with a doctor's note. Mom couldn't keep her at home. This is what was wrong with her tooth.

I know that parents get busy and some have to absolutely work to survive. But this is mom who gave her daughter coffee to stay awake at school because she let's her go to bed whenever she wants to. This is mom, who during conference told me she didn't have time to deal with her daughter's strange antics because she works all day.

Promise me, all that have children or are thinking about having children, that you will show concern for your children. If your child's teacher brings something to your attention that s/he is concerned about, do something about it! We as teachers can only do so much for your kids. Love them, please!

“As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools”

15 days left. I would dare say that the last month of school is the most difficult time of the school year. For teachers and students. It's difficult for me because there is so much that is expected to be done: grades, testing, last minute lessons, parties, dunk tanks, etc. For my students: testing, make-up assignments, behavior issues, summer anxiety, etc.

My poor students. Poor me. We started our end-of-year testing last week. We did the science test on the computers last week. This is always a stressful time for me. I walk around the classroom and secretly read my students' answers. Surprisingly, some of my students did well on the science portion. They were relaxed. I think they were because they are so comfortable with technology. It was like playing on the computer for them.

Today we started the Math and Language Arts portion of the test. This is the part we all remember; #2 lead pencils and rows upon rows of bubbles. They freaked out. And because they freaked out, I freaked out. I taught them how to do shoulder rolls and take deep breaths to relieve stress. I taught them yoga moves with their chairs. I sprayed SMART spray, which is just air freshner spray. That usually works wonders. It hasn't worked.

After I gave the ridiculously long directions and gave them permission to start, I saw a hand go up. Of course my students will remain anonymous, but I wasn't surprised. "Teacher, where is question 1?" "Teacher, where am I supposed to write the answers?" "Teacher, what are we doing?"

Bless their little hearts. As much as I would like to think that all students can do well, they can't. I try to get them to believe in themselves, but who am I joking? I love them and I can pray for them, but there is only so much I can do. Maybe you can pray for them too...