School Ramblings and Spring Breaks

I love working till seven o'clock every night.


Maybe if I keep saying that it will become true.


This week I worked till 7 almost every night, except for Thursday when I worked till 9:30. Yes, I'm a teacher. Don't get me started. The music department has had concert after concert, performance after performance, and I even went to work on Saturday last week. *sigh* Like I said before, whoever started the "7-3, summers off" saying obviously wasn't a teacher.

I'm done complaining. I'm very thankful to have a job, especially one where at least half the time I do what I love - teaching orchestra. I have a fantastic principal and a great mentor, co-workers who make me laugh, and some great students.

The thought hit me this week that my school is the inner-city school of the county. The thought surprised me. I never thought I was the "inner-city teacher" type. I guess living in Memphis as a child wasn't a totally bad thing if it helped me get ready for this. But it's true. Mot of our students are hispanic or black, and I'd venture to say a majority of them are with single parents, if they live with their parents at all. They're the ones who get kicked out for "jumping" another kid, having a knife in school, cussing out a teacher, etc. The other schools in the county never deal with this stuff. It's all us. And yeah, it's a middle school. It's terribly sad. My heart breaks for these kids. To be 12 and know your daddy doesn't love you...doesn't even want you...I can't imagine. One of my students came to me crying after school last Tuesday because she was afraid to go home - apparently her father was angry at her over something, and she knew he was going to beat her when she got home. I reported it to the principal since our social worker had left already, but it's not like we can do anything until she comes in with bruises. I hate it. People who beat kids should be beaten themselves.

On that happy note...sorry for the downer there. I've been stewing about that a lot.

On a completely different topic (don't you love my smooth transitions?), The Artist is home this week on Spring Break. I'm rather happy, even if I still have to work. I love my sisters so much and I miss them a lot, with the Artist at school and Punkin' two states away. My friend Boo is coming home too, but not till Tuesday for some reason. She goes to school in California, and with the time difference and our busy schedules, we don't get to talk much. I'm planning to have Boo cut my hair this week. I'll post before and after pictures when that happens!

More blogging to come in The Super-Exciting Life of Leah! Stay tuned!



Leah