In sports the follow follow through is the most important thing if you want to be successful. You can't succeed without it. In golf (the only sport I really excel at) one has to follow through on the swing, a lot of people think the back swing is the most important but it's not. If you don't come all the way through correctly your ball won't go the right way. And in basket ball if you don't follow through on your shot the chances of making it go in the basket go down significantly. I am sure there are many other sports where this is true but my knowledge is limited (insert jokes and laughter here).
In teaching the follow through is incredibly important as well. I have learned that the hard way in the past. The stakes are high when dealing with kids. They expect you to follow through on EVERYTHING, even if you say something in passing or by mistake. Sometimes it is hard to remember everything I say which is why I am careful not to make promises to my kids I know I can't keep good or bad.
I wrote before about Ricardo, the student who recently got out of the gang and has been doing better. He has begun to slide as far as his grades and attendance. We (those that are involved in his care at school) are starting to come down on him and yesterday I had to take him in to the administration for a "real" talk. It was tough, he doesn't want to take responsibility, wants us to lay off and let him be. I had to tell him that unless he starts to take this very seriously I'm out. This is difficult for me. I have invested every lunch period and at least 2 hours a week of other time for three months into him.
For a kid like Ricardo being tough is the only way to get through to him and following through is the only way to make it stick. I don't want out. He's got a good heart and has made progress and I don't give up without a fight but I will. I will be sad and heartbroken but come Monday morning at 7:49 if he's not in my room I'm out and he knows it. The balls in his court and it's time for him to follow through.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
First Sermon from Couch
I am a firm believer in rules, they are created because people did not have common sense to not do the right thing therefore someone created a label for the action that must be followed in order for society to continue without chaos.
I do not cross the street when the orange hand is up, I do not drink milk after the date on the carton, I do not dry my hair in or near the bathtub and I stand on the square at the pharmacy until the person in front of me is done.
I believe that if a person breaks a rule they should suffer the consequences. If you speed, you get a ticket, you hurt, threaten, endanger or try to hurt someone you should go to jail. You skip school, detention, you skip jury duty, bench warrant. I think you get the picture.
I am not saying I am right, and that all rules are in people's best interests. I am simply saying that I like rules because I can control things when there are rules. God likes rules too. He has lots of them. There are the ten big ones like don't kill, honor your mother and father, etc... and the other miscellaneous ones you know like love everyone and clothe everyone and feed the poor and don't be a hypocrite. Come to think of it I think God likes rules more than I do and his punishments used to be a lot more strict. He lightened up a lot when Jesus showed up but most people do get busy when they have kids.
Amos 7:7-8 reads "This is what he showed me; the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said, 'See I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel."
I went on a mission trip in college to Coalmont, TN and was asked to build a boarder of 6X6s around a playground in 2 days with some rebar and a couple of sledgehammers. There were like 8 of us college students and our pastor. It was my first mission trip and I didn't have a lot of experience with building. Thankfully someone on our team came up with the idea to use a rock from the playground and the string from our nametags to make a plumbline to make the border straight. Folks, it wasn't striaght but those elementary school kids didn't care; they got to use thier new playground after months of looking at it because it had a border and I learned what a plumb line was.
That trip taught me that sometimes rules don't apply, you just have to make stuff up as you go along and hope for the best. While I do believe that rules keep me safe and I do follow the most important ones, I also make exceptions.
As a teacher I break rules for my students when I see how hard they are working or if a second chance is needed (or a third, fourth...). I am learning to accept that the expectations I set for myself aren't hard and fast rules but more of a plumb line that can be crooked as long as the path is in the right direction. Everyday I get up and make more mistakes and set my path straight again according to the plumb line I hope God has set for me.
God set a plumb line to judge the Isrealites because no one keeps all the rules, no one has a perfectly straight path. There are twists and turns and as long as we keep God's plumb line in our sights we will never break God's rule over our hearts.
I do not cross the street when the orange hand is up, I do not drink milk after the date on the carton, I do not dry my hair in or near the bathtub and I stand on the square at the pharmacy until the person in front of me is done.
I believe that if a person breaks a rule they should suffer the consequences. If you speed, you get a ticket, you hurt, threaten, endanger or try to hurt someone you should go to jail. You skip school, detention, you skip jury duty, bench warrant. I think you get the picture.
I am not saying I am right, and that all rules are in people's best interests. I am simply saying that I like rules because I can control things when there are rules. God likes rules too. He has lots of them. There are the ten big ones like don't kill, honor your mother and father, etc... and the other miscellaneous ones you know like love everyone and clothe everyone and feed the poor and don't be a hypocrite. Come to think of it I think God likes rules more than I do and his punishments used to be a lot more strict. He lightened up a lot when Jesus showed up but most people do get busy when they have kids.
Amos 7:7-8 reads "This is what he showed me; the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said, 'See I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel."
I went on a mission trip in college to Coalmont, TN and was asked to build a boarder of 6X6s around a playground in 2 days with some rebar and a couple of sledgehammers. There were like 8 of us college students and our pastor. It was my first mission trip and I didn't have a lot of experience with building. Thankfully someone on our team came up with the idea to use a rock from the playground and the string from our nametags to make a plumbline to make the border straight. Folks, it wasn't striaght but those elementary school kids didn't care; they got to use thier new playground after months of looking at it because it had a border and I learned what a plumb line was.
That trip taught me that sometimes rules don't apply, you just have to make stuff up as you go along and hope for the best. While I do believe that rules keep me safe and I do follow the most important ones, I also make exceptions.
As a teacher I break rules for my students when I see how hard they are working or if a second chance is needed (or a third, fourth...). I am learning to accept that the expectations I set for myself aren't hard and fast rules but more of a plumb line that can be crooked as long as the path is in the right direction. Everyday I get up and make more mistakes and set my path straight again according to the plumb line I hope God has set for me.
God set a plumb line to judge the Isrealites because no one keeps all the rules, no one has a perfectly straight path. There are twists and turns and as long as we keep God's plumb line in our sights we will never break God's rule over our hearts.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Saturday!
I can't remember looking forward to a day more in a long time! Tomorrow is a free day. It's not spring break when I felt obligated to get things done yet was in a lot pf pain the entire time. My National Board portfolio is done and the test isn't until May 16th.
I am free as a bird, the weather is going to be great and I am planning a big day. Spending some time in the back yard sunning (not a lot due the fear of skin cancer), cleaning the house (it's dirty), and watching a movie.
Sarah has some weird notion of grocery shopping but I say forget it, too much stress! There is too much stress in my life anyway and I am getting rid if it. Lost my job, oh well, being proactive and working on getting another one. Not feeling well, oh well, dealing with it, sleeping and yoga. Can't sleep, breathing exercises and reading.
This is a new calm I have accepted. I have decided that other than the job and money and health thing I like it here in LA and I am going to make it work so this is how. I will see how long it lasts. Pretty random blog I realize but not much else is going on these days.
I am free as a bird, the weather is going to be great and I am planning a big day. Spending some time in the back yard sunning (not a lot due the fear of skin cancer), cleaning the house (it's dirty), and watching a movie.
Sarah has some weird notion of grocery shopping but I say forget it, too much stress! There is too much stress in my life anyway and I am getting rid if it. Lost my job, oh well, being proactive and working on getting another one. Not feeling well, oh well, dealing with it, sleeping and yoga. Can't sleep, breathing exercises and reading.
This is a new calm I have accepted. I have decided that other than the job and money and health thing I like it here in LA and I am going to make it work so this is how. I will see how long it lasts. Pretty random blog I realize but not much else is going on these days.
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