Fire Evacuation

Let me set the scene for you... it's the middle of winter, a balmy 28 degrees with some decent wind gusts, and the snow is blowing and swirling.
But that's all fine and good because we're warm and cozy in this
big fortress called a high school.

That is until the fire alarm starts blaring.

The students look at me like I'm crazy or I'm the one who made it go off and the complaints begin spewing before the blistering wind even hits their faces. My students quickly blend into the sea of hundreds as the students file out of the school.

If I presented with more forethought, I would have been thinking about "project 365" (which I have not been 100% about yet). I would have pulled out my camera and captured the moment.

Students huddling together, students jumping up and down, all together not happy about the situation. My school is diverse and the economic population is also diverse. Many of these students are living in poverty. Many don't have boots on their feet or sweatshirts or sweaters on to keep them warm; some due to poverty and some because they're teenagers and they don't think it's a big deal to wear thin, short sleeved shirts and cute shoes with heels.

Either way, they were cold.

Fortunately it was a false alarm. The drama of being out in the cold without jackets lasted all of about 12 minutes. You would think they had to stand outside for an hour or more. They complained for another 15 minutes about how cold it was and how stupid it was and whatever they could think of to complain about. Get back on task and get work done, not a chance.

These kids don't realize how fortunate they are, in spite of the fact that some of them really do live very difficult lives.

I wish I could share that with them.

I wish they could see through my eyes and see the opportunities that lie at their feet. I wish they would understand that they are still young and that they can make a change albeit difficult.

Let's put things in perspective. The country of Haiti is in shambles due to an earthquake that rattled their poor country yesterday. These people live in shacks that can't even be called houses and even those are gone. I wish my students could see that even though standing in the cold is not fun, they have so much to be thankful for.

I try to teach them these values and ideals. Though who am I? I'm just another teacher telling them things they've heard over and over again. I try to give them the confidence that they can and should set goals for themselves and aim high.

Here's a glimpse of a portion of my classroom. I am determined to give them a larger vocabulary. We do a "Word of the Day" every day. They have learned over 75 words thus far. I'm not moving mountains here but if I can give them the tools and confidence... maybe, just maybe I'll have made a difference.

I can only hope that what I am teaching my own children will sink in and that when they are 16 years old, they will be strong and see the bigger picture when they are presented with a bit of adversity in their daily lives.