The Beginning of the End

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I think the reality that we only have four more days in the classroom is really starting to set in for most of us right about now. I came in hoping to learn so much and have a clearer sense of whether God is calling me to teach in low-income schools. While I can't say I've made much progress on the latter, I've certainly come a long way with regard to the former.

Like many of my fellow educators have indicated in their blog posts, the San Francisco school experience is so different from what you'll find in Spokane, sometimes in ways I wasn't expecting. I wasn't surprised to find that I was the only white person in my classroom all day long. I was expecting to find that many of my students have mild behavior problems and have skills far below grade level. What I wasn't expecting was that my students would be so sweet and charming, even when their classroom behavior drives me up a wall. The ease with which I have been able to relate to these students has really taken me by surprise; it turns out race and culture aren't as much of a barrier to teacher-student relationships as I thought they were. I've also been surprised by the way the students respond to my authority. As a young woman who still looks as though she's about 16, I wasn't expecting students to take me seriously, at least at first. I was pleasantly surprised to discover, though, that, at least for the most part, my students listen to me! How exciting :)

There's no question that I've learned a lot while I've been here. But even while this experience has provided opportunities for me to learn and grow as an educator, I think it's raised as many questions for me as it has answered. How can we allow students to make it to 7th grade when they still don't know their multiplication tables? How on earth am I supposed to help students grow academically when over 80% of them are on free or reduced lunch (indicating very low income), and clearly have other things to worry about? What is going to happen to these students, who have so much potential, when they continue to make such limited academic growth?

The hardest of those questions, for me at least, is the last one. I have so many students in my classes who could be outstanding pupils, but a lack of foundational knowledge, study skills, and resources prevents them from succeeding, even though they have the ability to make incredible academic achievements. There just isn't enough time to give them everything they need to make enough progress. One of my smartest students has been in two fights since I've been here. He should be in advanced classes and at the top of his class; instead, I wonder whether he'll even graduate high school, or whether he'll end up in "the system" for getting into more fights. I wish I could follow up with all these students and keep track of them over the next six years, but I know I can't. So what is my role as a teacher? How can I make the biggest difference? Does God want me to teach in low-income schools, or is he calling me elsewhere? There's so much I still don't know. But I'm hoping that God can use these last few days and the time following the trip to help point all of us here to the ways we can best use our gifts to serve our students.

Thanks for reading! Please keep us in your prayers as we finish up our trip!
Sarah