hanging in there

So, it's about time to post again.  I've been meaning to write about the results of the last marking period.  The grades were up from before, on average, and I think everyone's happy about that.  I can't say I wasn't tempted to just bump the grades up just so that I would get less flack from everyone :).  I still have students in every class who are getting less than 60%, so that means I have to do a better job of making sure that everyone is getting the help they need.  I was surprised that my fourth grade class didn't do a little better.  I overestimated them.  I thought their test was easy, and I didn't think we covered very much during the period, but their scores on the whole were among the lowest of my classes.

I am still hopeful that the students and I will be learning how to do this whole education thing better throughout the year and be pleased with what we've accomplished at the end.  As I was planning for the week this evening (I know!--work on Sunday?! How terrible!), I was excited about what the second graders would be learning.  The problem is, I have felt this way before and then been so frustrated in class that I could have walked out.  The students had zero interest, or I was zero on the interesting scale, depending on how you look at it, and I almost couldn't take it.  Anyway, I say this so I can ask you for your prayers in this area.  Especially with second grade, but also with the other classes, as well.  Please pray that they get interested and start wanting to learn more in English.

I've also seen signs of hurtful behavior in some of my classes.  Some kids are laughed at and shunned.  I'm thinking of a specific person in my fourth grade class who whenever I ask someone to partner up with him, they make a scene and finally give in grudgingly.  I don't know what to do about it apart from give the student a few quick words about how it is mean to act in such a way.  I don't know Spanish well enough to make it meaningful to them, and even if I did, I'm not sure how I'd go about that.  So, pray for my students to be kind and loving to one another.  Certainly this is something that every school needs prayer regarding.  In my estimation, kids at this school are pretty accepting, but I hate to see it developing, and I think my school is new enough to develop more of a culture of love--and it must do so before it grows much larger.