New Adventures

We all made it home and none of us got slit. Whitworth School of Ed for the win.

I made it home yesterday afternoon after sleeping the whole plane ride from Oakland. My heart broke a little every time I would think about what my Rosa Parks students were doing... "It's 8:03! They're finishing their Do Nows and leaving for ELD in two minutes!" "It's 2:30! Shoot they're out of school by now and I'm already home!" "It's 7:50 on Friday! They're just starting the Cha Cha Slide! If I go fast I can make it!" My students had a little celebration for me on my last day and it was so heartwarming. My little J man, who I spent most of a day chasing around the school last week because he didn't want to go to class, was the first to give me a hug and wrote me such a sweet card. He is one that I tried to put lots of love into... He's in 5th grade, has already been arrested, probably will be again, and has adults watching him like hawks everywhere he goes... People seem to have a hard time loving him and it makes me really sad. But I was exposed to so much there and just got a taste of learning the power of diversity and equality... A spark that lit a flame in all of us.

Originally I was supposed to be going to Tanzania, but that trip fell through. At first, I was pretty upset about it, but as soon as San Fran proved itself to be possible, the world looked a little brighter again. And I would not trade this trip for the world. While my heart still feels called to work for somewhere foreign to me, spending a month in San Fran makes me remember that pain and suffering and poverty does not exist on one continent - it happens in our own backyard.
I had a student who spent first grade living in a house with gang members who would beat him up just for the heck of it - where lies the justice in that? I have a student whose mom came to get her and yelled at her to shut up in front of me - where lies the justice in that? Half my students came from single parent homes, and I think that's high compared to most classrooms... It breaks my heart. But one of the things I have learned this month is that I cannot pass judgment on neither students nor parents, because blame nor fault lies on any one person. I can only lift this up to God and pray that He provides and loves.... Loves a lot.

Today it is back home to Spokane for the start of a new adventure: student teaching. May the pass by clear and Walternate be tough!