Today I drove home from work heavy and somewhat discouraged. I had an incounter with a detention student that left me feeling like I failed. I didn't get through to the boy--there was a moment where it seemed he was listening, but he kept going back to the same disrespectful, snickering grin. There was a brief moment I thought I got in, but then the detention ended with his front again. There were two moments during the conversation where I just waited, hoping God would nudge me to approach it a certain way. Nothing.
When he left without remorse and a slightly disrespectful tone, my heart sank. The whole way home I kept going over the conversation. "If I would've tried... Maybe I should have said... Why did I ask him..." My spirits were sinking. I knew I had to claim to just STOP. To leave it at work--it was done, I had tried, and I had to let it go.
Walking in my door, my mind started turning over it again. NO. A few moments peace, until I walked into the bathroom and decided to go from "teacher mode" (my glasses) to "me mode" (my contacts)... My mind went right back to the topic of work and the boy's face came to mind. "Maybe tomorrow I could go find him and say..." STOP. Finally, the claim succeeded. I let it go, and sat down at the piano to sing. It lifted, and was left with a night for me.
Lesson: once it's done, don't mull over it
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Hi!
ReplyDeleteI pray that you have a God filled, blessed day : )
All for Jesus,
Julie
Aww..u need a good hugs.
ReplyDelete*HUGSSS*
maybe after sometimes he'll let u in his heart he is a teenager being rebellious is natural. I praise you for your patience. It's not easy to be a teacher.
Not an easy lesson, but an important one. I find making music is really good for getting those nasty thought loops out of my head. I refer to my guitar as my therapist, Dr. Fender.
ReplyDeleteRemember the positives to help with the negatives. Like your assembly speech. You ARE getting through to them, even if one was being a stinker. And the advice I got once has always carried me through, "Tomorrow is a new day." For him, for you, for everyone.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jesus is ALWAYS believing in you and walking with you. -M
Thank you, Julie, and you too! Nice to meet you. I pray that God keeps giving you hope!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement you guys! You're right--I need to remember that teenagers can be that way, and it doesn't mean that I'm not making a difference. "Tomorrow is a new day." I like that! (By the way, I'm still trying to figure out how to answer comments individually, so please be patient with me!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to get out of that mode. One of the stories we had to read for my writing class had to do with a rebellious teenager. So often in culture (and in this story), rebellion is looked on as a good thing, like "he does things his way" and "the cool kid breaks the rules". We need more books to encourage kids to respect or (honor) their teachers and authority in general. Of course, it matters what their being taught at home as well. Doesn't it seem crazy that a generation that teaches children such things wonders why their own children don't respect them?
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