September 26 -
After independent writing time today during share time:
"Tell me about something you wish for."
"I wish to live far away from Drew, Mississippi."
"I wish I could get an education."
"I wish I had a great family."
"I wish to be a WWE wrestler and to be rich so that I could buy all the games and pre-order them from the manufacturer."
"I wish I could be a teacher!!! AND a pop star."
"I wish to live in a mansion."
"I wish that I could get an education and be a policeman."
"I wish that everyone had love in their heart."
After independent writing time today during share time:
"Tell me about something you wish for."
"I wish to live far away from Drew, Mississippi."
"I wish I could get an education."
"I wish I had a great family."
"I wish to be a WWE wrestler and to be rich so that I could buy all the games and pre-order them from the manufacturer."
"I wish I could be a teacher!!! AND a pop star."
"I wish to live in a mansion."
"I wish that I could get an education and be a policeman."
"I wish that everyone had love in their heart."
__________________________________________________
September 23 -
Another humbling day of teaching... BUT (!!!) then I got to take funny pictures and have a WOBBLE dance party with four of my treasures during dismissal hour. And!! Monday is over people, Friday is soon approaching.
____________________________________________________
September 20 -
After having to teach multiple lessons on "kindness" and "loving one another" to a room full of seven year olds, day by day the work of Dr. King just leaves me more and more in awe. The question in our class during any time of conflict is: "What would Martin Luther King do? Would Martin Luther King call his friends a turd? No, I don't think so... Better think about that next time baby, there goes your clip!"
We learned this quote in class today and I will not stop saying it until it sinks in and permeates my work and the lives of my kids, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."____________________________________________________
September 20 -
I've posted this song before but today it hit me harder because I am now more overwhelmed and angry. I know Tupac isn't talking about Mississippi but it made me think of kids around this country who really don't have a choice and naturally it made me think of my twenty beautiful babies. And then I got angry... I am angry that more people are not fighting the numbing effects of poverty, I am angry that I teach in a rural food desert, I am angry over my incompetence as a first year teacher, I am angry that most of my boys struggle with first grade addition concepts while I am trying to teach double digit addition, I am angry that my copier never works and therefore getting simple paper copies for my kids is complicated, I am angry that my kids don't have more books, I am angry that one of my kids had to ask me today, "Why were white people so mean to that girl in that book I read?" after he read a biography of Ruby Bridges, I am angry that I don't have a good answer, I am angry that no matter how many times I stay after school with him and drive him home and take him out to dinner J. still can't listen to me in class, I am angry that not more people care, that not more people are outraged, that we are concerned with people thousands of miles from us instead of in our own backyard, I am angry that when I tell people where I teach they tell me things are bad there, I am angry and perplexed as to why if things are really so bad "there" why they don't do anything about it, I am angry that it is easier for others to complain than to do something about it, I am angry that I still hear people using the N-word when referring to my kids. I am angry that using hateful and dehumanizing speech is socially acceptable, I am angry that I can’t do more, and I am angry that even if I tell you, you won’t see it like I do and that I have to be okay with that.
And the only reason I am writing this is so you know. I don't see everything and I understand much, much less. I acknowledge that I have a very limited perspective. I am simply here as a witness but if I don't say something I might just explode.
_____________________________________________________
September 23 -
Another humbling day of teaching... BUT (!!!) then I got to take funny pictures and have a WOBBLE dance party with four of my treasures during dismissal hour. And!! Monday is over people, Friday is soon approaching.
September 20 -
After having to teach multiple lessons on "kindness" and "loving one another" to a room full of seven year olds, day by day the work of Dr. King just leaves me more and more in awe. The question in our class during any time of conflict is: "What would Martin Luther King do? Would Martin Luther King call his friends a turd? No, I don't think so... Better think about that next time baby, there goes your clip!"
We learned this quote in class today and I will not stop saying it until it sinks in and permeates my work and the lives of my kids, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."____________________________________________________
September 20 -
I've posted this song before but today it hit me harder because I am now more overwhelmed and angry. I know Tupac isn't talking about Mississippi but it made me think of kids around this country who really don't have a choice and naturally it made me think of my twenty beautiful babies. And then I got angry... I am angry that more people are not fighting the numbing effects of poverty, I am angry that I teach in a rural food desert, I am angry over my incompetence as a first year teacher, I am angry that most of my boys struggle with first grade addition concepts while I am trying to teach double digit addition, I am angry that my copier never works and therefore getting simple paper copies for my kids is complicated, I am angry that my kids don't have more books, I am angry that one of my kids had to ask me today, "Why were white people so mean to that girl in that book I read?" after he read a biography of Ruby Bridges, I am angry that I don't have a good answer, I am angry that no matter how many times I stay after school with him and drive him home and take him out to dinner J. still can't listen to me in class, I am angry that not more people care, that not more people are outraged, that we are concerned with people thousands of miles from us instead of in our own backyard, I am angry that when I tell people where I teach they tell me things are bad there, I am angry and perplexed as to why if things are really so bad "there" why they don't do anything about it, I am angry that it is easier for others to complain than to do something about it, I am angry that I still hear people using the N-word when referring to my kids. I am angry that using hateful and dehumanizing speech is socially acceptable, I am angry that I can’t do more, and I am angry that even if I tell you, you won’t see it like I do and that I have to be okay with that.
And the only reason I am writing this is so you know. I don't see everything and I understand much, much less. I acknowledge that I have a very limited perspective. I am simply here as a witness but if I don't say something I might just explode.
_____________________________________________________
September 18
Utter joy this morning as my kids read books about Cesar Chavez, Ruby Bridges, Susan B. Anthony, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott, Booker T. Washington, the Freedom Riders and Jackie Robinson. Thank you Tanya Brewer, Joel Brewer, Zachary Stallard and Michael Maxey!!! My kids came alive this morning.
____________________________________________________
September 17 -
My principal asked me today with a look of such utter pity, "Ms. Maxey do you do anything other than school?"
My unwavering response: "No."
My greatest joys and sorrows are these children. They are the highs and lows of my day and my sole reason for living in this strange place away from my friends and family. And as crazy as they may drive me, at the end of the day I love them, cry over them, hug them, am frustrated over them, and am proud of them as if they were my own.
______________________________________________________________________
September 16 -
At recess while five of my girls were crowded around me yanking and pulling at my hair in an attempt to braid it.
Ty'meriah: Ms. Maxey I am going to buy snacks from Ms. W after school but I might save it and buy you some new hair or a new outfit…you wear the same thing every week. I’ve seen that shirt before.
Can I give you a makeover??
Me: Sure…
Ty’meriah proceeds to pull out a lead pencil and some lip gloss. When she's done, she regards her work.
Ty'meriah: Ms. Maxey you look like you’re going on a date!!!
Me: I don’t have a boyfriend, baby…
Ty'meriah Well, you’re going to get married!!!
Oh the encouragement these children give me, they are good for my soul.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 15 -
Week Seven! #john330 #SoliDeogloria
_______________________________________________________________________
September 14 -
Any of my Mississippi friends know of a small couch or love seat or even some beach chairs I could use for my "Reading Corner"???Anything to make these babies love their new library! Also, anyone have any Captain Underpants books they wouldn't mind sending my way?? (For my boys)
______________________________________________________________________
September 13 -
Taught my kids what a "chancla" or a "chancleta" (a flip flop) was a few days ago and how it is used as a common tool of discipline among Latina moms and they haven't stopped talking about it since. I will randomly hear them saying to my only Latino student, "Jose your momma is going to use the chancla on you if Ms. Maxey calls her!!" What have I done...????
______________________________________________________________________
September 13 -
We just heard the exciting news that the classroom supplies are on their way! Thanks so much for your help.
______________________________________________________________________
Hooray! My DonorsChoose.org project was fully funded.
_______________
September 11 -
I want to stop being tired, stop feeling incompetent, stop feeling like I am falling apart all the time, stop feeling like I am broken and just stop and do something easy or at least a little easier. But I also don't want to stop needing Jesus, don't want to stop depending on Jesus, don't want to stop loving Jesus. I am right where I am supposed to be.
______________________________________________________________
September 10 -
Today is one of those days...ONLY EIGHT MORE MONTHS UNTIL SUMMER!!!
_______________________________________________________________
September 9 -
BOUGHT A LAMINATOR TODAY!!! SO EXCITED TO USE IT!!!! #getmealifeplease#teachertoys #butiloveit
________________________________________________________________
September 8 -
Saw "The Butler" last night and for obvious reasons it made me think of (my favorite) Dr. King's last speech in Memphis and our job as ministers of reconciliation:
"Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness...
The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question."
Be dangerously unselfish.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
____________________________________________________________
September 5 -
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/when-god
’s-will-harder-we-expect
____________________________________________________________
September 5 -
Woke up this morning feeling defeated, weary and worn. But then I saw that my classroom library project on Donors Choose was FULLY FUNDED. It took less than 24 hours to raise over $700 for my kids to have inspirational books and comfy bean bag chairs for the school year. Thank you Tanya Brewer, Joel Brewer, Zachary Stallardand Michael Maxey. I am so grateful for your support and I am in awe of the Lord's provision through you. Here's to my beautiful kids, the God that loves them and good friends. Praise His name.
____________________________________________________________
September 3 -
My kids are so AWESOME!!! We are practicing writing our own word problems and in grading work this one is my favorite beginnings: "Barack Obama has 4 pens, Martin Luther King Jr. has 3 pens..." Integration of math and social studies- WADDUP! #futureleaders.
_____________________________________________________________
September 2 -
The drastic measures I must take to locate a Starbucks nowadays... #Mississippilife#onedayMS #lessonplanning.
_____________________________________________________________
September 1 -
"THERE IS NO PLACE SO DESOLATE THAT YOU CANNOT FIND ME THERE." -Jesus
September 17 -
My principal asked me today with a look of such utter pity, "Ms. Maxey do you do anything other than school?"
My unwavering response: "No."
My greatest joys and sorrows are these children. They are the highs and lows of my day and my sole reason for living in this strange place away from my friends and family. And as crazy as they may drive me, at the end of the day I love them, cry over them, hug them, am frustrated over them, and am proud of them as if they were my own.
______________________________________________________________________
September 16 -
At recess while five of my girls were crowded around me yanking and pulling at my hair in an attempt to braid it.
Ty'meriah: Ms. Maxey I am going to buy snacks from Ms. W after school but I might save it and buy you some new hair or a new outfit…you wear the same thing every week. I’ve seen that shirt before.
Can I give you a makeover??
Me: Sure…
Ty’meriah proceeds to pull out a lead pencil and some lip gloss. When she's done, she regards her work.
Ty'meriah: Ms. Maxey you look like you’re going on a date!!!
Me: I don’t have a boyfriend, baby…
Ty'meriah Well, you’re going to get married!!!
Oh the encouragement these children give me, they are good for my soul.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 15 -
Week Seven! #john330 #SoliDeogloria
_______________________________________________________________________
September 14 -
Any of my Mississippi friends know of a small couch or love seat or even some beach chairs I could use for my "Reading Corner"???Anything to make these babies love their new library! Also, anyone have any Captain Underpants books they wouldn't mind sending my way?? (For my boys)
______________________________________________________________________
September 13 -
Taught my kids what a "chancla" or a "chancleta" (a flip flop) was a few days ago and how it is used as a common tool of discipline among Latina moms and they haven't stopped talking about it since. I will randomly hear them saying to my only Latino student, "Jose your momma is going to use the chancla on you if Ms. Maxey calls her!!" What have I done...????
______________________________________________________________________
September 13 -
We just heard the exciting news that the classroom supplies are on their way! Thanks so much for your help.
______________________________________________________________________
Hooray! My DonorsChoose.org project was fully funded.
_______________
September 11 -
I want to stop being tired, stop feeling incompetent, stop feeling like I am falling apart all the time, stop feeling like I am broken and just stop and do something easy or at least a little easier. But I also don't want to stop needing Jesus, don't want to stop depending on Jesus, don't want to stop loving Jesus. I am right where I am supposed to be.
______________________________________________________________
September 10 -
Today is one of those days...ONLY EIGHT MORE MONTHS UNTIL SUMMER!!!
_______________________________________________________________
September 9 -
BOUGHT A LAMINATOR TODAY!!! SO EXCITED TO USE IT!!!! #getmealifeplease#teachertoys #butiloveit
________________________________________________________________
September 8 -
Saw "The Butler" last night and for obvious reasons it made me think of (my favorite) Dr. King's last speech in Memphis and our job as ministers of reconciliation:
"Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness...
The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question."
Be dangerously unselfish.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
____________________________________________________________
September 5 -
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/when-god
’s-will-harder-we-expect
____________________________________________________________
September 5 -
Woke up this morning feeling defeated, weary and worn. But then I saw that my classroom library project on Donors Choose was FULLY FUNDED. It took less than 24 hours to raise over $700 for my kids to have inspirational books and comfy bean bag chairs for the school year. Thank you Tanya Brewer, Joel Brewer, Zachary Stallardand Michael Maxey. I am so grateful for your support and I am in awe of the Lord's provision through you. Here's to my beautiful kids, the God that loves them and good friends. Praise His name.
____________________________________________________________
September 3 -
My kids are so AWESOME!!! We are practicing writing our own word problems and in grading work this one is my favorite beginnings: "Barack Obama has 4 pens, Martin Luther King Jr. has 3 pens..." Integration of math and social studies- WADDUP! #futureleaders.
_____________________________________________________________
September 2 -
The drastic measures I must take to locate a Starbucks nowadays... #Mississippilife#onedayMS #lessonplanning.
_____________________________________________________________
September 1 -
"THERE IS NO PLACE SO DESOLATE THAT YOU CANNOT FIND ME THERE." -Jesus
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