KIDS

I love kids! I must I spend every waking hour with them. I have three of my own and 24 at work. I have yet to meet two children that are the same, though.


My oldest son, Shane, is now 17. He is working as many hours as Foodlion will allow him and going to school. He is a junior in high school. He has a girlfriend, Nikki. I rarely get to see him much these days. The days he works he does not see Nikki. The days he doesn't, he makes up for lost time. He is trying to grow up, but still needs me for important things, such as driving him to work and back, fixing him something to eat and occasionally I am his counselor. Prediction: He will get married young, finish high school barely and work a menial job that he will dread doing.


My youngest son, Joey, is almost 16. He is a freshman in high school and has just begun training for the wrestling team. He is very strong headed and independent. He needs me less than his brother. He is more mature, girl crazy, and unpredictable. He has never had a girlfriend for more than 6 months at a time. He changes girls more often than I would prefer. He tells me nothing about his life. Prediction: He will not marry young, he will finish high school although he will struggle, and he will attend a trade school, assuring himself a job that he will enjoy doing.


My daughter, Sabrina, is 3. She is a ball of energy. I written about her previously in another blog. She is the light of my life and I am so glad that God has blessed me with the privilege. I know that she will be my problem child when she becomes a teenager. Prediction: She will be a hard to handle, finish high school without even trying, and attend college (possible graduate school) to determine her calling.


Neither of my boys are the type that do well in school. School is not the most important things happening in their lives. Shane is capable of doing more, with a little effort. Joey on the other hand has learning disabilities that prevent him from doing more.


I noticed there was something wrong when he was in first grade. He was having major problems with reading. Many words in the English language, we are expected to just recognize. Words such as a, the, it, she, he, we, etc... Joey could not do this in first grade. I fought with teachers, principals, and Special Ed. teachers for 3 years to have him tested.


I finally had him tested during his second year of third grade. Now he was not only having difficulties in reading, but in math, social studies, and science as well. Surprise! Surprise! If you can not read, you are not going to do well in any subject. When he was tested, his reading level was that of a first grader. He has worked really hard the past six years to make up this deficit.


He is doing much better in reading, math, social studies, and science with the help of modifications. He has modifications such as extended time on assignments, the use of a calculator in math, word banks on tests and alternative assignments. He still covers the same materials as the rest of his class and is responsible for learning the same content. I just wonder how much better he would be doing, If I could have gotten the system on his side sooner.


My students at school are in many ways the same as my own kids. I have 3 students that I would consider Gifted. They are advanced in most of the assignments that they are given. I have 4 that have been tested and are considered Special Ed. The other 17 are supposed to be average learners.

The 17 are the ones that bother me the most. They fall in a full range of categories.

• Ones that try really hard and put forth everything they have; 8. These students will become my B/C students. They can and will succeed. They will graduate and attend a two or four year college.

• Those that are just like my sons, not really into school; 5. These students do not have the drive to do their work. They never hand in homework, unless made to. They only do the minimum to get a grade. They will probably become the teens and adults that will drop out of school and work menial jobs for the rest of their lives or get married and continue to pop out babies for welfare.

• Finally those that can't do, but have never been tested; 4. These 4 are the most problematic to me.Knowing what my son has been through, I feel that I should be pushing for a Special Ed determination. Two of the students mother's will not even talk about the possibility and the other two there is not enough documentation to warrant testing. I worry about these students and want to help them, but how? If I modify their assignments, it will most definitely help them achieve passing grades this year, but what happens next year. If I don't they will most likely fail this year and be retained, but I would have enough documentation to warrant testing. I am torn. I want to teach to the best of my abilities and to theirs. I am afraid that these kids will fall through the cracks in the system and will become a detriment to society as whole.

It would be so much easier to teach and be a mother, if all students were the same; They learn the same way, act and think the same. But what kind of world would that be, we would never have the diversity that the world contains today. We would never have greatness. We would never have choice. I'm glad we are not the same, but dang it sure is hard for a teacher.