Heartache in the Classroom: An unexpected Part II

Valor (noun) – boldness or determination in facing great danger, especially in battle; heroic courage. Synonyms: intrepidity, courage, bravery

Just under two weeks ago, I posted the beginning of a story with the topic of "Heartache" in the classroom. The very next day a different – and far more tragic – story of heartache rocked the suburban town of Newtown,Connecticut. While I still plan on continuing the story of Tala*, I wanted to write an unplanned segment on heartache – and heroism – in the classroom first.

***

Undaunted (adjective) –undiminished in courage or valor; not giving way to fear; intrepid.

On December 14, 2012, a 20 year old man entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and began shooting. 20 students lost their lives, along with 6 adults. Lost among the stories of tragedy was the story of Victoria Leigh Soto, the 1^st grade teacher who did everything possible to protect her children. She hid them in closets and cabinets and, by many accounts, threw herself in front of her children when the gunman entered their classroom. Her students survived. Sadly, Ms. Soto – only 27 years old – did not. I consider Ms. Soto a hero.

When I read Ms. Soto’s story, I was struck by some of the similarities that she has with another person whom I read about not long ago: Jason Lee Dunham.

1)                  Both have the same middle name (albeit, different spellings)

2)                  Both were in occupations which they served others

3)                  Both received far to little pay for the service they provided

4)                  Both gave their lives protecting others at their job

5)                  Both were in their 20s when they passed away

6)                  Both are heroes to the truest extent

You see, Jason Lee Dunham was a 22 year-old Marine squad leader who jumped on a grenade in Iraq. His actions protected at least two of his fellow Marines from certain death. Corporal Dunham was posthumously awarded the highest honor our country can bestow upon anyone of the armed forces – the Medal of Honor. On his citation it reads,

“By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life…”

It is here where the stories of Jason Dunham, United States Marine, and Vicki Soto, 1^st grade teacher, diverge.

***

I’m a veteran. Proud as I am of having served in the United States Marine Corps – Infantry no less! – I've always been a tiny bit uncomfortable when people have thanked me for my service. Perhaps it is because being recognized alongside combat veterans of Iraq,Vietnam,and WWII seems to make my service somewhat trivial. Or, maybe it is because I only served two years on active duty, spending the other 6 years of my time in the service as a reservist. Either way, I've never considered myself a hero; not on Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Independence Day, or any of the other days we use in the United States to recognize the men and women that have served our great nation.

If you were to take a poll of what might be considered ‘heroic’professions, I’d bet that ‘soldier’, ‘police officer’, and ‘fireman’ would all make the top 10. The reason is simple: for each, their job is to protect and serve, and they don’t have to be killed in the line of duty to command that respect. Similarly, I – like all other service members and veterans – am thanked and given respect regardless of how inconsequential we feel our time in the service was. Although I’ll never be comfortable being recognized in the same breath as the Jason Dunham’s of this world, I am comfortable with respect being shown for those that protect and serve others. I am comfortable that this respect stems in part because it is a ‘heroic’ profession. 

Vicki Soto, 1^st grade teacher, had a job description which required her to protect and serve others. She showed uncommon valor in her actions on December 14, 2012. To all of us –especially the 1^st graders and their families of room 10 in Sandy Hook Elementary – Ms. Soto is a hero for her undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty. But, here is where opinions might diverge: Victoria Soto was a hero before she selflessly gave her life to protect her class of 6-year olds. She didn't need to give her life for her to gain that respect.

I hope you will all join me to honor Victoria Leigh Soto the same way we honor the other courageous men and women who went above and beyond a hero's call for the sake of serving and protecting others.  Although I am a veteran, I have never been the hero she was during those dreadful moments on December 14, 2012.

***

To the teachers I have known – past, present, and future: I am thankful for your service.

Heartache is Good?

The tears were streaming down 10-year old Tala’s* face, but I wasn’t sure who’s heart hurt worse – hers or mine. 

Do I have a soul?

When the year started I told Lisa* – a 23 year old new teacher who would be joining my team – that I like it when I make my students cry.  She looked at me like I had no soul.  She may have even said it, too (well, maybe not.  I’m pretty sure she thinks I care a lot about my students).  It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand my reasoning:

            “When a child cries because of me, it is because we have built a good relationship, and they have disappointed me.  It’s not that they cry because I’m mean – they cry because they feel bad about something they did.”

But, Lisa is an amazing teacher (I can say that now because I’ve worked with her for a few months now) who loves and cares about children more than just about anyone not named Mother Teresa.  While many of us grew up wanting to be baseball players, doctors, or lawyers, Lisa has wanted to help children learn her entire life.  Seeing children hurt makes her hurt as well, so she couldn’t fathom liking the sight of tears from a child full of remorse. 

One Child’s Story

At the start of every year, I remind myself of what I wanted when I began my venture into public education:  If I could make a difference with just one child each year, I would be happy.  As with most teachers, I often lose sight of those small goals because we want to save them all.  On my most difficult days however, I remind myself of that initial thought and think of a child that I’ve seen grow right before my eyes.  On those days, the mere thought of a child can change my attitude and remind me of why I love my job so much.

This year, 10-year old Tala came into my classroom and was one of many students who told me they hated math.  Unlike most of my students however, she couldn’tbe convinced that math could be fun.  In addition, she disliked reading, talked back to me constantly, and even refused to let me show her different strategies to help her in areas she struggled with.  After 2 conferences with her parents and almost an entire quarter, I was at my wit’s end – she was one of the most difficult students to motivate that I had ever encountered. 

I’m not sure exactly when, but I began to notice subtle changes in her behavior.  Perhaps it was after I helped her find a book that she loved.  Maybe it was after I gave her a high-five when she successfully completed some division classwork that had initially given her trouble.  Or, it could have been when I read her writing aloud to the rest of the class and complimented her writer’s voice before I taught a lesson on how to make good writing even better.  In any case, I was talking to the ELL (English Language Learners) teacher a month ago about our Language Arts class and the topic turned to Tala:

Mr. Lin:                     “We have some really needy kids this year!  I’m pretty worried about them.”

Mrs. P:                       “I know!  But some of them have made great progress.  Like Tala… she’s come such a long way.”

Then, the watershed moment came not long thereafter when she came up to me with her friend:

Tala:                           “Mr. Lin, you’re not as mean as you say you are.  Actually, you’re not mean.  I used to think you were, but you’re not.  You’re actually really nice.”

\          

Mr. Lin (grumpily):  “Hmph.  I’m pretty mean.”

Tala (smiling):            “No, you’re not.”

           

The best of times…

Interims went home to students last week, and on Tala’s I had written,

            “Although her grades don’t fully reflect it, Tala has made significant progress and improvements in her attitude.  If she continues to work hard and keep her positive attitude, I know she will be successful.”

I even called her home yesterday, just so I could tell her parents and sister how proud of her I was.  When I hung up the phone and got in my car to go home, I couldn’t help but smile.  Unfortunately, it was a happiness that was short-lived.

It was the worst of times

The next day, Mrs. P showed me the book reports of two students – one of them was Tala’s:

Mrs. P.:            “These two book reports are the same.  Like, exactly the same, word for word.  They copied each other’s work.”

I couldn’t believe it.  We were determined to get to the bottom of things, and in the process we learned that Tala had read the book and completed the book report, and then wrote the same for her less motivated friend.  Then, it was time to talk to Tala:

            Mr. Lin:         “Do you know why I’m talking with you privately?”

            Tala:               “I think.  I helped Naomi* with the book report.”

I paused for a second, then spoke:

Mr. Lin:         “Tala, you’ve made so much progress this quarter!  I even called your parents yesterday to tell them how great you’ve been this quarter.”

Her large, childlike eyes began to brim with tears as I spoke the words that would hit her like a 10 pound hammer:

            Mr. Lin:         “I told them how proud of you I was.”

The tears were pouring out now like tiny spigots of water.  Her frail body shook as I hugged her, and we both knew no words needed to be said – she was remorseful for her actions, and I was disappointed.  But despite my disappointment, I still loved her.

My heart ached as I left school today and I wasn’t smiling, so did the tears of this remorseful child still bring me joy?

To be continued…

*Names changed

Coming Clean Part II: I've been lying to my students

At our annual Heritage Night, one of the 5^th grade parents stopped me and said,

“Mr. Lin, you’re a genius.”

Now, I’ve been called many things before, but ‘genius’ was a first for me.  How did I come to receive such a high compliment from one of my parents?

The Ruse

I've been at it again.  Except, this time I'm not swearing in the classroom like I wrote about in this post. Instead, I'm lying to my kids.  This lie is the reason why that parent said that I was a genius.

Our current unit in writing calls for students to write a persuasive essay.  As I was discussing how to teach this unit with one of my fellow teachers, we talked about how it was impossible to persuade someone of anything you don’t feel strongly about.  As adults, we have grown to care about a multitude of different things.  However, a 10 year old’s world is far smaller than ours.  Then, it struck me.

Mr. Lin:         “How about we tell the kids that we are going to cancel recess for the month of December?”

Mrs. P:           “Great idea!  We’ll tell them they can write essays to the principal trying to persuade them that recess is important.”

We presented the idea to the rest of the 5^th grade team, and after making some tweaks to the plan – including getting parents and our administrators in on the hoax – we were ready to put the plan into action.  On Monday, November 5^th, we gathered the entire 5^th grade together for an assembly.  

The Aftermath of a Hurricane

Mr. Lin:         "5^th graders, I have some terrible news.  Because Hurricane Sandy cancelled school for a few days, we lost some very valuable instructional time that we need to get back.  We lost 12 total hours of instructional time, and when we talked to the principal it seems like the only chance we have to make up that time is to use our recess time during the month of December."

(A collective gasp runs through the kids)

Student A:      "We only missed 2 days of school!  Why do we have to take away a month of recess??"

Mr. Lin:         “We have 20 minutes of recess each day so it takes us 3 days to make up one hour.  We’re lucky actually... to make up the full 12 hours it would take us to the middle of January!”

Student B:      “Can’t we stay after school for an extra 20 minutes each day instead? I mean, we NEED recess!!!”

Mr. Lin:         “Unfortunately that isn’t possible.  We’re on your side though.  Us teachers feel that it’s important that students get recess.  I’m not sure what we can do to convince the principal that we need recess.  Do you all have any ideas?”

Student C:      “I’m going to write the principal a letter.  I’m really upset about this.”

Bingo.  After some discussion, we brought the kids back into our rooms, determined to write persuasive essays to our administration.  

The Essays

On Friday, I collected the first batch of essays from my class.  Here are two of them:

Essay 1 – by Alicia*

The 5^th grade has been informed that in December we will not have recess because of Hurricane Sandy.  I wanted to write you this to tell you why this decision is not a wise one.

One reason that I think recess is important for kids is that kids all over the world, especially America, are getting obese.  Having recess might help.  More and more kids are getting obese because of a lack of exercise.  If more kids are obese, there is a higher percent of people dying.  At recess you could play tag, football, basketball, soccer, and more.  Also, monkey bars are a great way for exercise.  So that way kids will exercise and still have fun at the same time.

Another reason that I think recess is important is because it’s healthy to socialize. Socializing can help us in the future.  Some jobs you might need to socialize a lot.  Recess is the perfect time to practice.  We hang out with friends and learn how to speak fluently.

My last reason is we need to get out our energy.  As you might know, kids have lots of energy.  Also a result of us not getting it out is not paying attention in class.  So if you took the only time in the day to let us do that we will go nuts in class, which will waste a lot of time.

I hope these few reasons convinced you.  But my main reason is we need recess.

Essay 2 – by… a student who forgot to put her name on her essay

Do you like recess?  Do you like to talk to your friends?  Do you belive that talk to people is realy important and recess is important?  I belive you need to socilaze, relex your mind, and hang out with your friends.

Do you know that kids need to go outside and socilaze with their friend?  Because if you want to get a good job you need to have a high level of socialze.  Want to know why?  If you can socialze really good you won’t have a hard time explaning yourself.

We have about 6 hours of learning.  We need at lease 20 minutes to relex our mind and play with our friends.  Some students have a hard time focesing in class because they need a time to relex their mind and not think about math, Reading, and writing.

Most Student have friend in different classes lik Aliya and Rosa.  Aliya is in Mr. Lin class and Rosa is in Ms. Dornan class also Ashley and Megan.  Ashley is in Mr. Lin class and Megan is in Ms. Artis class.  Without recess Megan and I wouldn’t be best friends.

Without recess Megan and I wouldn’t be best friends.  Without recess we won’t have a good job.  Without recess it be hard for people to Foces.  Would you like to not have your best friend to talk to or have a hard time to foces?  Would you like that??

What great writing!  How can you argue with that passion?  I think these kids will have their recess in December.  Now if I could get that second student to work on spelling, grammar, and… writing her name on what she turns in.


*Name changed

Boycotting Halloween

Warning:  This post isn't my best effort.  Much like the rest of my day today...

As we near next week’s presidential elections, I’m going to take a stance that is decidedly right-wing.  Halloween is the devil’s holiday, and it should be banned.  Halloween is destroying the youth of America.

Last Week's Warning

Last week, one of my students came up to me to ask a very important question:

Katherine*:  “Mr. Lin, are we going to have homework on Halloween?”

Mr. Lin (false relief in voice):  “I’m glad you reminded me, Katherine!  I had totally forgotten to write that into my lessons.  Wow that was a close one!”

            Katherine: “But I have to go trick-or-treating… you CAN’T assign homework!”

           

The Calm Before the Storm

Yesterday, I greeted my students cheerily in the morning.

            Mr. Lin:  “Good morning, class!  Happy Halloween!!!”

            Student A:  “Are you going trick-or-treating?”

            Student B:  “Where do you live?  I want to come by and get candy from you!!”

            Student C:  “How come you didn’t dress up?”

            Mr. Lin:  “Of course I dressed up.  I have a great costume.  Instead of being a mean teacher, I’m a nice teacher today.”

            Katherine:  “Does that mean we won’t get any homework tonight?”

            Mr. Lin:  “No, that just means I won’t hit anyone with my whacking stick today.  Now take out your Puzzling binders, we’re starting class.”

The Aftermath

Today, as I was checking over homework in class, I noticed something different about the students.  They – even the ones that normally can’t sit still or keep their mouths shut – were remarkably docile.  When Marcus* slurred his words as his eyelids were fluttering shut, I decided to take an impromptu poll of the classroom.

            Mr. Lin:  “Class, if you went trick-or-treating last night, raise your hand.”

All of the kids put their hands in the air.

            Mr. Lin:  “Ok, if you got home later than 8:00, keep your hand raised.”

All the hands stayed up.

            Mr. Lin:  “If you got home later than 9:00, keep your hand up.”

A few hands went down.  A smattering more went down with each hourly increment and I realized that the vast majority of the class had less than 6 hours of sleep – all because of Halloween.  To top it off, my principal walked into my room about 10 minutes after I took this poll and proceeded to observe me teaching a very interactive lesson to a room full of comatose children.  That game we played at the end of class to demonstrate their proficiency?  My students – who love games and are VERY competitive – were fighting to be LAST in line rather than first.   

The devil’s holiday indeed!  I haven’t received my observation report back yet, but I can guess it won’t be the best one I’ve ever received.  Perhaps I should start a movement to remove Halloween from the calendar to save other teachers from similarly horrifying observations.  Either that or perhaps I’ll give in and heed the advice of a 10 year old girl:  no homework on Halloween.  

*Name changed

Love is in the (classroom) air!!!

Rules?  More like suggestions...

There are some rules that we have that most of us just ignore.  For instance, that whole speed limit thing – not even police officers and judges obey that one!  I mean, as long as you’re within a reasonable speed, usually we get away with breaking this rule.  The same thing holds true about rules in the classroom.  For instance, one rule every classroom in every school has is,

  

“No Passing Notes in Class”

It’s a rule, but seriously, has anyone NOT ever passed a note in class before?  I guess some things never change, as about 6 weeks ago, I intercepted this note that was being passed in my classroom:

Hey Eric*, this is Nadia*.  I REALLY REALLY like you, do you like me?  Put a check:

o       Yes

o       No

o       Kind of

Hilarious!!!

Classroom Casanova

Another rule that we have in our school is that students are not allowed to date.  Now, I had always felt this was another one of those rules that wasn’t strictly enforced – usually the consequence of students ‘dating’ in elementary school is some light-hearted jesting at their expense:

Teacher:  “So, you and Savannah* are going out?”

Student:   “Yup!"

Teacher:  “Where are you going?”

Student:  “What do you mean?”

Teacher:  “Going out means you’re going somewhere, right?”

Student:  “Uhh…”

Teacher:  “Are you going to the movies?  Is your mom going to drop you off?”

Ahh, the joy of belittling a little kid!  Good thing dating isn't all that prevalent at my school.  On my end, I’ve always just told students that what happens outside of school is fine – I just don’t want it to be a distraction.  And, until this year, this policy has worked out just fine.  But this year, I happen to have a little Casanova in my classroom.  My student Eric, who I’ve known and been close with since he was in 3^rd grade, has had more girlfriends in the 2 months we’ve been in school than I’ve had over the past 2 years!  OK, so maybe that is more of an indictment of my social life than anything, but you get my point.  First, it was Nadia.  Then, Alana, Katherine, and Meredith, and back again to Katherine.  Eric sure is popular with the ladies!

The Rhyme, and the Reason

This really wasn’t a huge concern of mine at first – usually, ‘dating’ in the 5^th grade is not much of a classroom distraction and in reality, is mostly entertaining, cute, and ever so occasionally it stirs up creative juices not seen in their everyday classwork.  Take this note Katherine sent to Eric a few weeks ago:

Here’s a little girl who hates writing and anything associated with writing, and she put more on that little note than I’ve ever seen her put down in structured writing times.  How could I be mad?? 

Sadly, a few days later I had to put an end to their ‘relationship’ because of a huge scene (all very innocent, thankfully) they caused in the library.  I was willing to look the other way when it was hard to notice, but my star-crossed lovers demonstrated why dating is frowned upon at my school by becoming an obvious distraction.  I guess in this way, this rule is kind of like speeding.  Breaking the rule is accepted as long as no one really notices!

*Names changed

Coming Clean: I've been swearing in school

   

 

Confession

School just started back again, and I have a confession to make.  I’ve been having a hard time not saying a bad word.  And, to make it even worse, I’ve been saying this bad word in front of my students…. all the time.  It’s a bad habit, and bad habits are hard to break. 

Perhaps this admission comes as a shock to my readers.  Perhaps more shocking would be if you knew what the word I’ve been saying over and over – almost every day – in front of my students.  Here’s a hint:  it begins with an ‘m’, and the third and 4^th letters are ‘t’ and ‘h’.  That should be enough for you to figure out what word it is I’m talking about.  I know, I know… you are appalled.

Great Expectations

On the third day of school, I gave my students a puzzle to solve.  It was a geometry puzzle, and they had a blast trying to match up the pieces.  I had heard that this cohort of kids was an eager bunch that thirsted for learning, but this was better than I could imagine.  I couldn’t wait for school the next day!  That night, I went to bed with a big smile on my face: I was looking forward to a great year teaching math.

Right after the morning announcements that next day, my students were in their seats ready to begin their first class of the day.  24 eager faces stared up at me as I said,

“Class, it’s time to begin math.  I know you are all as excited as I am!”

A collective groan went up,

“Oh NO! Do we HAVE to?”

“Can’t we start NEXT week??”

“I HATE math!!!”

Caught off guard, I changed gears for the moment.  I held up my hand to signal for the ruckus to end, and when it died down I took a poll that would forever change the course of the year.

“If you hate math, please raise your hand.”

A few hands went up, then a few more.  Maybe they were scared of what my response would be.

“Be honest.  You won’t get in trouble. To tell you the truth, I hated math when I was in elementary school.  And middle school.  And up through high school.  In fact, when I graduated high school, I told my friends that I would never take another math class again if I could help it.”

Several kids chuckled, and in a few seconds almost all the hands in the class were raised.  The verdict was in:  my kids DESPISED math.  It was time for desperate measures. 

“Well, there we have it.  We all hate math so… we aren’t going to do math this year.”

Educating Mr. Lin

The kids looked around at each other - first suspiciously, then excitedly.

“Yeah!!! We won’t do math this year!”

“Do you think we’ll have recess instead?  That would be AWESOME!!!”

“Mr. Lin, are you serious??  We won’t do math?

I was dead serious.  I was serious about taking a page out of a book I read during graduate school called Educating Esme:  Diary of a Teacher’s First Year.  Her kids hated math, just like mine did.

“I’m being serious.  In the fifth grade, we don’t do math.  We solve puzzles.  Math class is now Puzzling class.  From now on, ‘Math’ is a bad word.  I don’t want to hear anyone say that word again.”

There was no turning back:  from that moment on, there was going to be one more four-letter word I had to abstain from. 

All-In (as always)

As the days and weeks have rolled on, I continued to build on this new word for math.  I was all-in; I talked about how with puzzles you need to take your time and take multiple steps.  I related composite numbers to Legos, with prime numbers being the individual blocks.  And, one of my new classroom jobs is a student who – when I slip up and say the dreaded ‘m’ word, stands up and shouts,

“Bad Mr. Lin!  Go to the office for recess!”

My students have also been all-in with this.  They tell on each other – and are serious about it – whenever one of them slips up and says that bad word that has now been banned in my classroom.  Many have scratched the word ‘math’ off of anything they own that has the word pre-printed on it.  And, perhaps best of all, another teacher stopped me today and told me about a conversation she had with a former student:

“Dahlia* said she loves math this year!  She said you call it ‘Puzzling’ because it’s like solving puzzles.  She said that even when she doesn’t understand something at first, she knows that she will eventually figure it out because puzzles take time to figure out.”

Whether it’s smoking, biting your nails, eating fried foods, or saying the ‘m’ word, breaking a bad habit sure isn’t an easy thing.  I still slip up every now and again, but I’m committed to quitting because it’s worth it for the sake of my students.  Anyone with kids would tell you the same thing.

*Note:  Name changed

Coping with Loss

I was in denial.  I just had no idea until I was face to face with it.

Me?  Wrong?  No Way…

As a rule, humans fear and dislike change.  We are comfortable with how our lives are, so we don’t get that dog that we want (did it!), we don’t move to sunny California (yup), and we don’t leave a job we find merely bearable to pursue a different career (check!).  We all handle the idea of change differently, which leads some of us to believe we embrace change with no questions asked.  Perhaps some people truly love change, but perhaps some that think they love change are merely like me – in denial.  It wasn’t until I was faced with change that I wasn’t prepared for that I finally realized I wasn’t as forward-thinking as I thought I was.

The Work Wife

For those of us working adults, many of us have these.  Perhaps we don’t call it such, but in the arenas where we spend the vast majority of our waking moments, a phenomenon called the ‘work family’ develops.  Our work spouses and work moms encourage us, look after us, give us the benefit of the doubt by sticking up for us, but aren’t afraid to tell us – privately and with the right amount of firmness – when they don’t agree with our words or actions.  In other words, they not only make us better employees, but better people as well.  

I am fortunate to work in a place where the vast majority of my colleagues support each other above and beyond what is normal.  Therefore, when I lost my very special work mom last year I was sad to know I wouldn’t see her each day anymore.  However, because I was happy for what lay ahead of her, I thought that I was one of those people that embraced change.  This all changed in early June, when I got the news that my team leader – my work wife, mentor, and encourager-in-chief – was going to be the new science lab teacher, her dream job.  This also meant that she was going to be leaving the team.  So, I did what anyone in my position would do:  I went to see my boss.

Me:  “I hear there might be an opening in the 4^th grade next year.  Can I be considered for that position?”

Principal:  “No.”

Well, the conversation didn’t QUITE go like that - my principal is far to kind to respond as such.  However, he did let me know that I would now be the 5^th grade teacher who had been at the school for longest, so I would be asked to provide guidance and leadership to those that hadn’t been there for as long.  My role was going to change drastically – and change to something that I never envisioned when I became a teacher, change to something that I didn’t think I ever wanted, and change to something that I definitely didn’t think I was ready for.  That day – and every day for the next several weeks – I found that I didn’t embrace change like I thought I did.

In many ways, I’ve learned to cope with the change.  I learned to cope because I realized the root cause of my fear isn’t because I don’t know how I’ll handle the challenges that come with my new responsibilities.  Instead, my fear is the fear of how I’ll handle being without that friend, confidant, encourager.  It’s that fear of being without that person that not only makes me a better teacher, but also makes me WANT to be a better teacher.

The Student becomes the Teacher

Any teacher will tell you that we learn just as much from the students as they learn from us.  And, like me, my students moving to middle school will be going through a change that contains new peers, requires more responsibility, and presents experiences that they did not have in elementary school.  Each and every one of them is excited for what the unknown as to offer.  And, when asked,

“What will you miss most about elementary school?”

Almost all of them responded with something along the same line as my friend Malia*, who wrote:

Mr. Lin, you are the best.  Even though you hit us with your football, softball, and metal ruler **, I will still miss you.  I wish you were my teacher for my whole life.  I will also miss my friends.  My friends are so awesome.  My friends used to take care of me.

Letter to my Mentor

Dear friend,

Saying that it has been a joy to work with you does not do justice how much I loved and appreciated working with you.  Although the fear I have of my new responsibilities has subsided, it is only because you have been and still are a constant source of encouragement.  It is in this that I realize the real reason I was – and still am – afraid of what lies ahead of me.  You, Penny, and Judy have been like family to me.  You’ve always looked beyond the rough edges, pushed me in the right direction, and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.  Not only were you a great team leader, but a great leader by example.  

Thank you for working with me, putting up with me, and giving me the tools needed to succeed.  I’m truly happy that you – like Penny and Judy – are moving on to greater things.  I am finally realizing that I, too, am moving on in the same way – and it’s not that I believe I’m moving on to greater things.  It’s that YOU believe that I’m moving on to greater things because you believe that I’ll succeed… much in the same way that I know you’ll succeed in your new role.

Like my student wrote to me above, I think you’re the best.  Even though you hit me with challenges and responsibilities, I will miss having you on my team.  I wish that our original team from 2 years ago would be my team for my whole life because I will miss my friends.  You are so awesome, it's like you are like family – you take care of me.

                                                                                                Love,

                                                                                                Johnny 

* Name changed

** No children have been struck in my classroom - I promise!

“I will miss the teachers the most…”

Continuing my series on letters to my students, today’s letter is to Alex*, who asked the following questions:

 “How old were you when you wanted to be a teacher?”

“How old are you?”

“How long have you wanted to teach?”

“How long have you taught?”

“How long were you in the Marine Corps?”  

and,

“When did you meet Ms. N.?”

 

The Greatest Common Factor

I’ve had successful students that are very affluent, successful ones that are on welfare, successful ones who have parents with graduate degrees, and successful ones whose parents don’t have any degree.  Similarly, I’ve had successful students of every race and ethnicity, but I’ve also had students that have struggled whose backgrounds that cover the entire spectrum as well.  However, the one consistency that I have noticed among the students that I’ve come in contact with is that the high performing students are the ones that are the most inquisitive.  Therefore, in order to develop young minds to be more curious, teachers will start their lessons with questions.  From there, lessons will progress and end so that students begin to ask their own questions.  In the world of education, the ability for children to synthesize their own questions and process is the highest form of thinking and the goal of every teacher for their students to attain. 

One key to getting students to ask questions is that important first step – modeling questioning and opening up their minds to what is being learned by accessing what they already know or have experienced.  Therefore, before I had the students ask me questions, I also asked them a series of questions.  One of these questions was,

“What will you miss most about ABC Elementary School*?”

To this, Alex wrote,

“I will miss the teachers and classmates the most because they are the people that make school fun.  For example, Mr. Lin…”

Who is Ms. N??

While I have a lot of growing to do in order to become a good teacher, one thing that I’ve done a pretty good job at is making learning interesting for my students.  For example, one time I brought my dad to class in order for them to learn that there were different kinds of doctors.  And, during the last month of school I brought my friend (read: NOT girlfriend) Ms. N. in – not so much for the students, but for Ms. N., who wanted to see what teaching at a public school would be like.  As much as I try to get my students to have inquisitive minds, I guess I should have expected the inquiries that I received from my students after she left!

“How old is she?”

“Is she going to be a teacher here?”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

I guess that explains some of the questions posed in their notebooks!  Anyhow, on to my letter to Alex…

 Value of Happiness  >  Price of Happiness

Dear Alex,

            It was fantastic having you in my homeroom this year!  I will always remember each day after dismissal, when you and the other students that were walkers or parent pick-ups would just hang out as if you didn’t want to leave school.  Whether it was completely silent because we were all reading one of the ‘Hunger Games’ books or you all were playing ‘Screaming Toes’, this time of day will always be one of my favorite memories from this past year.

            Despite the free time after dismissal, it was rare to have you ask me questions.  Perhaps it’s because I often give answers that you can’t take seriously – especially if it’s about me – but I’ll be glad to answer now.  Anyhow, the first thought that I had of becoming a teacher was right around the same time that I enlisted in the Marine Corps – around 1996 or so, a few months before I turned 19 years old.  I was in college at the time, and my thought at that time was that I would become a teacher as a second career after I had made a ton of money. 

            I kind of forgot about that thought for many years, but a few years ago I began to volunteer with kids at my church.  I loved it!  You’d be surprised how much more fun it is to be a child and in the world of a child… for example, I don’t know any adults who play ‘Screaming Toes’ while they are waiting for someone to pick them up!  My time with these kids made me realize that while money has its purposes and can make things more convenient, in itself it does not bring happiness.  Being a kid again and teaching kids was so valuable to me that I quit my job and became a teacher in 2010.

            As for my friend Ms. N., she is a friend of mine that I know from church who happens to live close to me as well.  She’s a teacher also, and teachers often like to visit other schools to see the similarities and differences.  I’ve gone to visit other schools and teachers several times, and each time I pick up something that I want to try in my classroom.  Learning from observing others is a great way to learn – in fact, I’ve seen you do it many times and that’s one of the reasons you are such a great student!  Keep doing that and you’ll continue to make yourself better.

            I know I didn’t directly answer all of your questions, but I left enough hints so that you should be able to figure out the answers for yourself.  Hope you’re having a great summer and I hope to see you sometime next year!

                                                                                                                           Love,

                                                                                                                           Mr. Lin


*Names changed

Heaven is like... a Big Barbeque?

Today, I’m taking a brief break from my ‘Letters to my Students’ series to tell you how Heaven – not that other place! – is like a barbeque… 

A Beautiful Saturday

Many Saturdays ago, I woke up and decided to have an impromptu barbeque at my house simply because the weather was spectacular.  I sent out the following email:

What’s up everyone,

In keeping with my M.O., I’m having a last minute BBQ at my place today and then watching Avengers after.  I have chicken marinating and ribs, and will prolly pick up dogs and burgers if enough ppl want to come out.  Or, you can just BYOM (bring your own meat) and I’ll toss it on the grill for ya.

Hit me up via text if you’re in (555-555-5555) so I know how many ppl to prep for.  I know a few of ya already expressed interest in either the movie or the BBQ so just confirm if you’re in.  Anyone I left off this email, feel free to send this invite along – everyone is welcome.

Unlike many of my spur-of-the-moment ideas, this one happened to be rather successful – over 30 people showed up, despite the fact that I emailed out an invite only a few hours beforehand!  I was so excited by the success that I gushed over it with a few friends at work the following Monday:

Friend 1: “Do anything cool this weekend?”

Mr. Lin:  “Yeah, I had a barbeque at my house on Saturday!  It was pretty awesome!”

Friend 1: “Oh yeah, sorry I couldn’t make it.  My husband and I already had plans, but next time let me know earlier!”

Mr. Lin:  “Haha ok, my bad.  You know how I roll… I need to get better at planning.”

Friend 2: “You had a barbeque and didn’t invite me??”

Although she was only giving me a hard time, she kind of had a point.  Or… did she?  After all, on my email I wrote:

“Anyone I left off this email, feel free to send this invite along – everyone is welcome.”

The Problem with Christianity

A not-so-long time ago, when I was a Christian only by name and not by faith, I struggled with many concepts.  One of my biggest issues was that only Christians were to go to heaven – which left out many people who were really awesome people.  I mean, most of my closest friends weren’t Christians, and honestly, they were (and still are) some of the best people that I know!  To me, it didn’t seem fair.  Fast forward 10+ years to the present, and I still have some of the same thoughts.  Although I now have some great Christian friends, I’m incredibly blessed with many truly amazing non-Christian friends.  Their unconditional love, integrity, and self-sacrificial nature are more in line with what the bible teaches than most Christians I know – myself included. 

As I’ve gotten to know the bible, I’ve slowly begun to understand some of the things that confounded me for all these years about Christianity.  First off, in Romans 3:21-26 it states that being a Christian doesn't make you a good person.  I mean, I’m a Christian and I still get caught up in lots of things that wouldn’t be considered Christ-like behavior!  The fact is we’re all the same… well, except for one detail.  In many ways, this difference is like the barbeque I was hosting – everyone is invited; it’s just whether or not we show up!

Heaven is like a Big Barbeque

After talking to some people that didn’t make it to my barbeque that Saturday, I realized that those that didn’t come fell into 3 categories:

1)      They didn’t know anyone else that was coming, so they decided not to come

2)      They didn’t hear from someone that I invited that I was having a barbeque

3)      They had already made plans

I’d guess these are similar reasons to why the city I live in has 5.26 million people, but there is only seating room for 150,000 in all the churches in the area:

1)      They don’t know anyone that goes to church, so they don’t go either

2)      No one invited them

3)      They have other things to do

Going to church isn't what brings about salvation, but it's a good introduction for anyone that's curious about Christianity.  So... for those of us that are Christians, when was the last time you asked one of your friends to come to church with you?  And, for those that aren’t Christians, when was the last time someone invited you? 

Friends,

            If anyone wants to come to church with me some day, I’ll be more than happy to take you!  If not, I still love ya and won’t think less of you… just like I’m sure you don’t think less of me for asking.  Thanks for reading my blog, and feel free to ask me questions about my faith!

                                                                                                            Love,

                                                                                                            Johnny

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  ~ 1 Timothy 2:3-4