Junk Drawers

Everyone has a junk drawer, right?  You know, that place where you see a good part of your life lying at the bottom.  Then one day you think, “God only knows what this junk is for.  What the Sam Heck are the reasons why I am holding on to this stuff with such dear life?  Well, maybe one day you will use the button that doesn’t match any others, the broken ruler, washers that don’t fit any of the screws, the menu from the Chinese restaurant that went out of business several years ago…finally, you decide, “Here’s where I let go.”  The time has come to dump it, not a little at a time, but the whole dang thing – every bit of it.  Then you neatly arrange the “new” drawer for some short-lived satisfaction.  Next year, you’ll do it again.

Understanding the interests of the kids is one thing; understanding their backgrounds is much more of a challenge.  You may know that some of your students enjoy sports, play musical instruments, are in Art Club, or are very enthusiastic about skateboards.  You may use that knowledge to make some of your lessons relevant.  The other side is the understanding of backgrounds. Like a junk drawer, kids carry a lot of baggage that we may not be aware of.  Sometimes geography paints us as the mecca because all is well…or so you may think.  This is an outstanding community, we have hundreds of parents who value education, and we live in relative safety. BUT, we have kids who come here daily with hungry bellies.  We have kids who have yet to meet their father, yet alone have "A Dad" experience with him.  We have kids who do not have friends.  We have kids who just had to move in with their grandparents because of the economy.  We have a very high number of kids from broken homes.  We have kids who have been abused.  We have kids who can’t afford school supplies.  We have kids who never get told “Good Night” by anyone.   We have kids who have witnessed things that no one should ever have to see.  Yet, isn’t everything rosy?  Nope, it’s not.  We have to work hard to help kids clean out their junk drawers. Yep, that is part of this seamless garment that is called teaching…or counseling…or administrating…or being a custodian…or a lunch lady…or a secretary. What is asked of some kids to bear is well beyond what they should be responsible for.  You have a chance to be the adult, maybe the only adult, who shows any resemblance of caring about how they are.  You may be the one smile they can count on.  You may be the only one who tells them that you are proud of them, that they did a good job at the concert the night before, or that they have great potential.  Speak that into their lives and just see if that junk drawer gets less full.  Make the most of every opportunity…