Teachers Lunch

Man today was something that I was proud to be a part of, the teacher lunch at Whitley County High School. Today I felt as if in some way I was part of the school, I know that I have been there going on 4 months but today I felt a part of the network. I sat and ate with the teachers and the student teachers and the front office staff. I have enjoyed my placement at WCHS, I really have. This has been the hardest thing that I have done to date, I have worked hard and have felt out of place and now as it is coming to an end I might even miss it. I am not real sure that I will miss the mounds of paper work but I will miss the kids as well as the teachers. I have made some friends with the staff here and I am looking forward to finding a school to call home. I am not sure if I will be able to fins a job here but I understand what it is like to be part of a school. We are all on the same team, school colors are important, you think that it is just a sports things but it is much more than that. The people at WCHS have made me feel at home, they have opened their school to me and for that I am grateful. It has been eye opening and I am looking forward to my next step.

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
Ethiopian Proverb

Presentations

Today we continued our work on PowerPoint, in my second period class we have been working on creating PowerPoint, this has been fun the interesting to see. Today we started another PowerPoint, the first time we worked in groups but this time they will work alone. The students in the class understand what they are doing, they best part of today is that I have one FMD student in my class that only sits in the class and types home row keys. Today as I was walking past him he said do you think it would be OK if I did this? I said what, what do you want to do? I like this can I do this today? John wanted to do the same work as the others in the class, he wanted to talk about what he was going to do over Christmas, since this is what the PowerPoint presentations will be over this time. I think that this is awesome, I was shocked when he asked, it kind of caught me off guard but I am looking forward to seeing the outcome.

The more you say, the less people remember.
Francois Fenelon

Job Hunting

I was talking today to people in the school about jobs, how they got their job how they would go about looking for a job in today's market. It is very interesting to hear all the different ideas from all the different types of teachers. The coaches say not to worry about it, they say that I will have no problem finding a job. The female teachers say make sure that you are not over qualified or they will look over you and take somebody that will cost them less and the front office say, well your field is not really open right now. I am glad that I have started thinking and talking about this with people who have gone through this type of thing, I am sure that all have it correct at least a little bit or somewhat. I want a job, I want to work, I want to get settled and finish the KTIP, how about you?

The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable.
Seneca

Sent Away

Today I had to listen to my students talk about one of their classmates that just got sent away. This was not the first time that this happened, he was sent away before but only for a week now he is going to be gone till February. Curtis is the student's name, he was my favorite student, he was always smiling, we got along good, there was just something about him that was interesting. I talked to Curtis on Monday and he said that he had to go to court and more than likely he was going to get sent off, he said that his grades were really bad and that the judge was going to send him off. I have never had to deal with that, I never even heard of someone getting sent off when I was in school, this is all new. as Curtis was talking to me one of the other students in the class overheard him and said that he also had to go to court. So I had two students in the court system on the same day, I talked to them about it but I was blown away, I was just dumbfounded, this was all new to me. I tried to tell them that this was not good and it should not be a habit of theirs, they need to break the trend and figure it out and get back to being a teenager. What is going on these days? How do you deal with that?

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh

Real Life

The kids today were in another land, they understand that today is Monday but there mind is already onto Thursday, I am afraid tomorrow will be worse. We have moved into our employment chapter and it is so funny to listen to what these students want to do with their life. I have no reason to crush their dreams, I want them to want great things but I try and tell them it takes a lot of work to get the jobs that they want. I ask them to dream big, I ask them to want good things down the road but I want to make sure they understand it takes work to get where you want to be. I am pretty sure that there are not many homeless people who want to live on the street. I show them what it takes to become different professions, we talk about how to better their self and I let them know that is all starts today and tomorrow and the next day. One of the students said he wanted to be a doctor, another student said if you were a doctor there is now way I would come to your office. Once I told him that, that was not very nice and to keep his comments to himself it made me think. Then I asked them what do you think about your peers matter, 10 years down the road even if you have changed and you move back to town people are going to remember the way you acted when they knew you. Be a good person, do the right thing and you will not have to worry about people not wanting to come to your practice.

The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success.
Henry Ward Beecher

Multicultural Post

At first glimpse you would say that WC HS is a lily white school and that there really is no diversity in the school system, but that could not be further from the truth. The skin color is the same but that is where the similarities stop, the parents raise their kids in different situations, the incomes of most families are below the poverty line. There is huge difference in the school even know they all have the same skin color and look about the same in a picture. Statistics are what make the world go round, the black verse white numbers are the only cultural difference most people see when that really has nothing to do with it. Appalachia is totally different then Lexington, KY, the white kids here and the white kids there to no even have close to the same life, but because they have the same skin pigmentation we bunch them all together and figure our stats. That is wrong on many different levels, the kids are the ones who suffer.
In the school I teach in there is maybe 2% is not white, but there is still a huge culture difference in all of my classes. Some kids live at home with both parents, some live with one or the other, some live with grandma and grandpa who are still under 50, some just move out totally and get married. Now after reading that last sentence don't you think there might be some cultural differences in WC HS. Try and look past the color next you do a survey, try and look at the kids and the living situation before you come to a conclusion on a child's life.

The education of circumstances is superior to that of tuition.
William Wordsworth

Resources at WCHS

Family Support
Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Christian Appalachian Project
Corbin's United Effort
Friendship Center
Mountain Outreach

KCHIP-Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program

Whitley County Adult Eduacation Learning Centers
Boston Elementary
Oak Grove Elementary
Pleasant View Elementary
North Elementary

Parenting Workshop
Grandparent Support Group


If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.