It's been a long time but...

I have finally found another kid that I wish I could adopt. One of the pitfalls of teaching, especially if you have a tender heart, is that you sometimes come across a kid who you feel that way about. Most of the time it's because you see the wonderful potential that kid has, and then you see what their home life is like and you wish you could take them home and raise them right. Most of the time it's because the parents don't have the sense God gave a horse, some times it's because all that kid is to the parent is a government check. Working in low-income schools you see that a lot, and you see it in all types of schools really.

This year, I have M. M is a great kid. He has a really low self confidence and has some needs that require extra help, but all in all he's a great kid. I've seen what M can do this year. When he feels comfortable and safe he really shines. He has tended to be somewhat of a slacker, but I think it's more of a self-defense mechanism than a laziness problem. You see, his parents are divorced and they hate each other. They have no problem voicing their dislike for each other in front of other people and their own kids. They often pit the kids against the other parent, and that bothers me. My parents divorced, and there was some animosity towards the other. But God love both my parents, they never once and I mean ONCE said anything bad about the other parent in front of my sisters and I. We were allowed to come to our own conclusions about our parents and the failure of the marriage.

There have been some instances recently that have made me feel really bad for this student. The student has a problem and needs to find a simple solution (which all of the problem solutions have been simple), but because these people hate each other it turns in to this really big, blown out of proportion event. Get with the program people, when you have kids, it's not about you anymore.

If M could have a supportive home environment he'd do so much better. But as it turns out he's stuck with two people that have no sense.