school...who needs it?

School is really cutting into my fun time. I mean, I love being a teacher, and helping kids reach their full potential and all...yeah, who am I kidding! I love being a teacher and having summers off! I really have some great kids this year up until the last class of the day. That one is a real challenge. There are about 6 boys in that class that I don't think are going to make it the full year without ending up in juvenile hall. They behave themselves in my class, but from the stories they tell and the conversations I overhear, I don't think they will stay out of trouble for very long. I pray for them in the mornings before I get out of my car and hope that I can make a difference just by being a consistent force for them every day. I don't always think that I can make a difference, but maybe for one of them, I will.

I have had students come back years after graduating and tell me that I did make a difference. It is usually the kid that I thought I wasn't getting through to and they sure didn't learn science from me. But so much is going on at home that science is the last thing they need from me. They just need someone who shows concern that they are alive and I try to remember that when they are driving me crazy every day.

That's why I love to come home and play with my fabric. It gives me a sanity break from all the craziness I have to deal with in the classroom. I may not see the diffence I make with the kids, but after an hour of working with some fabric, I can see the changes I make quickly. I get that instant gratification in finishing a project and if it doesn't turn out how I wanted, I can give it away and start a new one the next day.

I don't understand people who don't have hobbies. I work with a lady whose life is teaching. She has no hobbies and she said that if she won the lottery she would keep teaching and working. Not me. I would be playing with fabric all day and taking my kids all over the world to see and experience what the world has so they could see how good we have things in the United States. I would also visit all of my online quilting friends! Of course, I would have to buy a ticket first.