*I started to type this summer of 2010 as I reflected life…between my many adventures…and lack of a computer….I am coming back to post what I saved and wrote….I started with the end of May 2010 and wrapped it up with the end of August 2010!
REFLECT BABY. Teachers are advised to reflect upon all they do in order to tweak, chuck, stay the same or improve an idea. I am overboard and take the advice not only for my teaching, but life, especially now as I am in a familiar/unfamiliar place of the great unknown, yet again.
HOPE. The idea of living with BIG TIME HOPE started last year at this time for me, and then the idea pretty much trickled into all aspects of life as the months went by. Hope started with finding a new teaching job, the discoveries of what God had in store for me as a professional, and then the concept of hope relating to life, one well lived, as I watched both GFlo and Emily’s lives quickly be overtaken through cancer and disease. Despite the ups and downs, holding onto hope, the hope that comes from God is what I only could find comfort in. For me, life combined with hope is a journey of adventurous lessons. The only must do: recognize where the hope comes from, and cling on tightly.
SPECTRUM OF ESQUELA. At the end of the 2009-2010 school year, I was certain God was going to provide a place for me to teach, although I did not want leave my current place of teaching, but had no choice. Beyond, my imagination God provided, and in all places, the City of Hope! I get now, why I was not supposed to go to Japan, I cannot believe how close I was to going! Oh the giggles! I quickly learned the students who were in my class were supposed to be in my life. Though, there were times where I was not comfortable, my professional ethics were tested, and I was on my own, I knew God had me right where I needed to be.
I learned valuable lessons in the role of an educator this past year, ultimately making a better teacher McGee. My students continued to test how much more would I love them. They were given a consistent faith, where I continued to instill in them they could do anything with their lives. At home and in previous years, most of my students were taught with a different type of communication compared to what I demonstrated in the classroom. The students who made me go, “hmmmmmmmm????” at the beginning of the school year, were my biggest “ahhhhhhhhhhssss!!!!” at the end. I was able to build solid student/parent relationships, discover intense pain and trials students encountered as they openly shared through our designated “family time” and as I was getting ready to pass the students along, future plans were established to follow individual students for their many specialized needs to learn with a convinced partnership with parents in agreement to help their child to be more successful (which is the hardest part).
One huge lesson or strategy I will take with me (as God is in the process of letting me know the next location) hands down is the “weekly phone call”. I was frustrated parents would not approach me or talk to me about their child unless I went into their personal space and spanglished them to death! I understand there was a cultural barrier, but their child was my student and the parents needed to understand my philosophy of teaching included them to be my partner for the success of their child. Without a missed week, every Thursday at recess the students knew I would make phone calls. I kept track of what calls were made in order to make sure all students had equal “good” phone calls. If I had concerns with the students, I too, made those students stay in the classroom for the call home day. For the “good” calls, the individual students would stand next to me, listen to what I told their parent, and then I would pass the phone to the student to not only hear my praise, but get praise from their parent. And the melting of my heart it would do, to see the smile of the individual students as they heard their parent give them words of encouragement. My partnership with parents was becoming a success! For the “needs improvement” phone calls, I do not like to make them. To solve that issue, the students who needed an issue resolved had to call their parents in front of me with a script from me. It was glorious! For the Spanish Only families, I had the individual child translate for me. I wish this was a strategy that I started from the beginning, but helped mid year to even the last weeks of school.
Of course, it was hard to close another school year, gut the classroom, pack up-carting the gear back to my bedroom and not know what is next. The hardest was to say good-bye to my students, as there was so much invested. I’m not completely sure if it will be a possibility for me to go back to the City of Hope. At this point I have been thanked for my year of service, the timeline which I was aware of when I started, though, I wish I could follow my students, and loop with them another year. At this moment, I am not sure it is a possibility.
Now, as the school year is at a healthy close, I’m LOVEN summer, which I needed badly. I am in a similar place to what I encountered last year at this time. I have continued reminders of how God is in control and able to do anything as long as I have my foundation.
GOD IS ABLE. My classic reminder came from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The common Sunday School story, which really is a pretty intense situation. S, M, and A would not bow down to the gold statue. Neb basically said, “Alrighty then, to the blazing furnace the three of you will go.” S, M, and A had extreme faith. They believed in God, who is able to take a situation that was wild and make his presence known. And that is what God did. S, M, and A, were thrown into the furnace. Based on studies, the furnace was so hott and deathly, the soldiers who threw “criminals” (according to Neb) in the furnace would even die. I am ok without that particular job! After S, M, and A were thrown into the furnace, Neb saw there were four people walking around unharmed. It is like God said to S, M, and A, “I will meet you in the furnace.” Neb saw the faith of S, M, and A. God used the situation to change Neb’s heart.
The idea of God meeting S, M, and A in the furnace can be illustrated and applied to life today with me. I can let God meet me in the heat of a moment. As I keep getting thrown into the furnace at the end of a school year (with the utmost uncertainty of what, where or how I will be teaching the following fall), I believe, as S, M, and A’s perspective, God is able. God is able to take the desires of my heart and make something happen with what he originally put there.
MY BARE FOUNDATION. In May, the living room down stairs was flooded. I was not the happiest camper. My entire wood floors down stairs needed to be torn up and replaced. When the cement foundation was visible it was obvious it needed to be aired out. What seemed like forever, we had to live with a cement foundation living room. Of course I continued to wonder what the God lesson in my torn up downstairs was. I figured it out as I was reading 1 Corinthians 3. Christ is my foundation. I can build on my foundation, but what is built may not always last, but as long as my foundation is firm and solid I will be ok. In the same way I relate that to teaching. I have my teaching foundation, though each year my duty is technically over in a specific location. As long as I have my foundation and desire I can take that with me where ever I go, and that is a comfort to me (although it is not my favorite situation).
GOD’S HAND, NO DOUBT. The idea of completely stressing over finding a job, I decided would not happen until the twenties of August. I turned in updated paperwork to Duarte and Glendora late July. One day, a parent of a student I had my second year of teaching at Cullen called me. She said Bonita was hiring and I should apply online. When I went on edjoin Bonita and Irvine were the only districts who were hiring elementary school teachers. I applied for both. Never hearing back from Irvine, I was ok with. Soon Bonita called me. They said they received over 500 applications, sorted them down to twenty and wanted a panel interview. At the same time out of the blue I received a call from Glendora. Glendora put my updated application in a pile to hire temp teachers. They too had over 500 applications and narrowed it down to ten and wanted to have an interview with me. In the same week I jumped between Bonita and Glendora for interviews. Bonita wanted a second interview, as they narrowed it down to their top ten. In a matter of a day, in the morning I was offered a 2nd grade position with Glendora and by the afternoon I was offered a 5th grade position in Bonita. I am certain God has his hands around me without hesitation and he is able to do anything. After prayer and a pro and con list, I decided to try a new district and become the temp 5th grade teacher in the Bonita Unified School District. I was hired, signed my contract, and got the keys to my classroom on a Friday afternoon. Moved into my classroom on Saturday and Sunday. School started Monday. The 2010-2011 school year began, and I was reminded, yet again without a doubt, God securely holds and takes care of me as I cling to Him, my unmoving foundation.
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