Kids

When I first began teaching, I began my Master's program in School Counseling. Most people think I'm fairly level-headed and a pretty good listener, and though I was REALLY struggling in my classroom, I knew my future included working with kids. I stayed in the program for a few semesters, but, after some time getting to know my kids, realized this was not a career I wanted.

As an ELA teacher, I'm privy to lots of info that other teachers may not get about their kids thanks to the power of writing. This is wonderful in terms of relationship building, but clues me in to some of the more awful parts of a kid's life as well. I figured that currently I know more than I want to about the bad things that go on in the world, if I became a counselor, the world as I know it would get darker. No thanks.

Another example of the wiseness of my decision to pursue an MA in English Ed occurred this past week. Several of my students are in foster homes, some with more success than others. On Thursday, the office called one of my students out of her 4th hour class to release her into the custody of two strangers - effective immediately. Her foster family decided they didn't want her any more, and within a half hour of discovering that, the girl was on her way to a detention center in Detroit - not even allowed to say goodbye to her teachers or friends. So not cool - and we wonder why some kids are screwed up.

So, while this has reaffirmed my career choice, it's also reaffirmed my intentions to become a foster parent when my kids are grown. I like to think some good has come out of this.